New York Regulators Release Guidelines For Cannabis Retailers

The New York State Cannabis Administration released new guidance on Friday for adult-use retail cannabis dealers, just weeks before the state’s newly legalized recreational marijuana market is scheduled to open later this year. did. The New York legislature last year legalized cannabis with passage of the Marijuana Regulation and Tax Act (MRTA), which is expected to begin regulated recreational marijuana sales by the end of 2022.

Regulators this summer filed applications for adult-use cannabis distributors in the state’s first recreational marijuana retailer license setting aside program for those with past convictions of cannabis-related offenses. began to accept The guidelines, released last week, are designed to help future marijuana retailers develop business and operational plans.

“This guidance document will help provide a framework to help conditional adult retail outlet licensees plan how to operate their outlets before the regulation is formally adopted.” The Office of Cannabis Control (OCM) wrote: 27 page document release on friday.

The new rule provides guidance on issues such as record keeping, employee training requirements and inventory management for cannabis dispensaries. The rule requires adult pharmacies to source products only from regulated distributors and dictates the types of products they can sell. The document also includes guidance for cannabis sales through in-store, drive-thru and delivery channels.

Regulations require clinics to be located at least 500 feet from schools and at least 200 feet from buildings used solely as places of worship. Officials said the guidance will govern adult-use cannabis retailers until full regulations are approved and posted online, before recreational marijuana officially opens.

“Compliance with current and future state rules, regulations, and laws is necessary for all licensees to maintain a good relationship with the Office,” OCM wrote in its preface to the guidelines. The Guidance Document makes clear what the Secretariat’s expectations are with respect to regulations and laws currently in force, as well as regulations to be promulgated in the future.”

New York Guideline Bar MSO

After reviewing New York’s guidance on adult cannabis outlets, Kaelan Castetter, managing director of consulting firm Castetter Cannabis Group, told local media that OCM’s first rule is relatively standard for the industry. But he added that one section of the new rules could pose problems for the fledgling industry.

According to the new guidelines, the “true stakeholders” behind pharmacies, including owners, passive investors, and service providers, must be licensed to grow, process, or distribute cannabis in New York or elsewhere. prohibited from having an interest in any business that state. The regulation effectively prohibits multi-state operators (commonly referred to as MSOs) and other vertically integrated cannabis companies from doing business in the New York market.

“I understand what they’re trying to do, but it’s a very protectionist approach,” Castetter said. “What it basically says is that if you’re doing business in another state, you can’t be a retailer here unless you just own a pharmacy in another state. It’s… it’s very anti-MSO.”

Earlier this month, New York Governor Kathy Hochul confirmed that the state’s first regulated recreational cannabis outlets will open this year, with nearly 20 shops opening by the end of December. In an Oct. 5 interview with the Advance Media New York editorial board, Hochul said the state’s plan to open 20 conditional adult retail stores by the end of 2022 is “still on track.” “And 20 more retail stores will open,” he said. Almost every month after that.

Hochul said New York’s plan to regulate recreational cannabis was designed to ensure that those affected by decades of cannabis prohibition had a way to become owners of the regulated marijuana industry. He pointed out that it contained a social equity clause. Under state regulations, the first 100 licenses for adult-use cannabis retailers are granted to applicants who have been previously convicted of marijuana-related offenses.

“We confirm that this is a model across the country, especially with our desire to make sure that people adversely affected by the criminal justice system … have the opportunity to work in this field. ” hochul he said.