ALBANY, N.Y. — The New York State Office of Cannabis Management announced on Monday the first round of people and non-profits to get a license to sell legal marijuana. The state granted licenses to 28 people with prior marijuana convictions and non-profits.
None of the licenses were issued in the Rochester region because of a federal lawsuit that calls into question whether the application process that New York set-up, discriminates against people who live outside New York.
Every applicant had to choose 5 regions in New York State where they would want to open a legal dispensary. The person who filed the federal lawsuit chose the Finger Lakes, Central New York, Western New York, Mid-Hudson and Brooklyn so, due to the injunction, NYS did not award any licenses in those areas. That leaves our region and the justice-involved CUARD applicants behind other parts of the state.
Applicants in the Finger Lakes Region got an email on Friday that read in part, “You have identified one of these 5 regions as your first regional choice. As the office has received more applications than there are licenses available for each of the 14 regions, only an applicant’s first regional choice will be considered. As such, the board will be unable to issue licenses in these region until the judicial proceeding is complete or the plaintiff withdrawals their complaint. “
Britni and Jayson Tantalo are CUARD applicants from Rochester and were devastated to learn our region has…
