The permitting process for the opening of recreational marijuana dispensaries in New York is in the process of being developed and reviewed. In light of the new regulations, the first ones have been reserved 100 a 200 retail licenses, for New Yorkers or their family members, who have a criminal record associated with possession of the herb, when it was a criminal act in the state.
However, although many were excited about the possibility of legally entering a business that will be very lucrative, the truth is that in the “small print” of the rules, there are large filters and funnels for the majority.
“We are observing a very important interest in this business, which would also generate thousands of jobs. But there are many restrictions that make it very difficult to obtain a license,” says Jeffrey García, founding president of the Latin Cannabis Association (LCA).
The first big wall, according to the proposed rules, is that the applicants must have owned at least the 10% of a business that has been profitable for at least two years. And, furthermore, have the financial records and tax documents to prove it.
There is also another limit: only those communities most criminalized for possession of marijuana, those who have received final convictions, before 31 March 2021. That is, it is not enough to have been arrested.
There are other requirements. The applicant who meets all these criteria must have at least one share of the 51% in the cannabis business that you want to start. You will also need to submit a business plan, your fingerprints, and a $2 non-refundable fee,04.
They request more scope
In García’s opinion, the point that requires applicants to obtain a license to show evidence of successful businesses in the past, is in principle one of the most unattainable aspects.
“There is an underlying intention of the law to include communities, but meeting all the conditions seems very complicated. In this sense, we are requesting more scope and especially legal and technical advice to applicants on how to participate in this business”, indicated the LCA leader.
According to a recent New York Office of Cannabis Management explanatory session, the regulations are still subject to and are open for public comment until 20 of May.
Cannabis regulators have said their goal is to get the first dispensaries up and running by the end of 2022.
But beyond the complicated road involved in obtaining a license, the Office of NY Cannabis Management ensures that the first batch of approved businesses will get help finding commercial space and will be eligible to receive financial assistance from the state to lease it.
These benefits could be particularly valuable for entrepreneurs of this business in the expensive real estate market of the city of New York, where commercial rent scales unattainable prices.
Hispanics interested in the potential business
When the state of New York approved in March of last year after years of debate, the Marijuana Tax and Regulation Act (MRTA) that legalized cannabis for over 17 years, state legislators promised a program of equity that would involve people disproportionately affected by the application of laws for criminal possession of grass.
As the state moves forward with strict rules and regulations to guide the burgeoning industry, organizations like LCA have put together to political and business leaders to ensure that Latino communities have a fair share in the industry.
The advisory council of this new association includes people with experience in this i Industry in other states.
“Until now, we have about 40 people in our communities who are applying licenses in all aspects of the cannabis supply chain, including cultivation, delivery and dispensaries. The 50% of those interested are women”, specified García.
Sales of legal cannabis in the US they exceeded 17 ,220 million dollars in 2020, in the 36 states that allow the legal sale of marijuana.
However, less than 6 percent of business owners in the legal industry are Latino.
In New York , LCA is pushing that in the coming years, the balance of this multimillion-dollar business leans a little more on the side of one of the most criminally punished ethnic minorities, during the era of the war on drugs, especially in the neighborhoods The poorest children in the Big Apple.
“There are still many stigmas to overcome within our Hispanic communities. Especially our older adults find it difficult to understand that it is a legal business. It is a process of much education. It is an issue that will also be extremely regulated”, specified the main spokesperson for LCA.
In this sense, the Dominican Luis Josué Cruz, from 60 years, ensures that for the years 86 had to fight even with an order deportation for being “caught with weed” in Lower Manhattan.
“I’ll summarize it for you very quickly. If a criminal record weighs on you, and more for drugs, it is very difficult to raise your head. So that you can prove that you have invested in a successful business. I understand that it is not that they are going to give easy licenses either. It is such a lucrative business that it cannot be easy to have access to it”, commented the islander.
The first bite
In this sense, Jeffrey Hoffman , a lawyer who represents people interested in obtaining cannabis licenses in New York, argued in an interview with the digital publication Gothamist that there are aspects of the new regulations around the nascent formal sector, which are tripping up some clients who “have sold marijuana illegally in New York and now they are looking to get ahead”.
“My clients who were smart enough not to be arrested are now excluded, because they consider that they took risks before in this business. And now they are not going to take the first bite of the apple”.
Hoffman referred that there are other aspiring dispensary owners who served a sentence for cannabis and “later have been model employees in a company”, who they are also frustrated because they are not eligible in this first round.
In this sense, spokespersons for the Office of Cannabis Management in NY argue in the face of these criticisms that the objective of limiting the licenses, to those who were condemned, is to help the people most affected by the laws, when the possession and commercialization was illegal.
“The spirit of the law is to undo some of the damage caused by the prohibition of marijuana”, argue spokespersons for that agency.
There is already 146 approved growers
The Cannabis Control Board of New York authorized last week that others 58 growers grow marijuana under conditional licenses, raising the total number of farmers licensed statewide at 93.
“We are moving quickly, knowing that the growing season of the grass is short,” said Chris Alexander, head of the NY Office of Cannabis Management.
Conditional license holders may grow cannabis outdoors or in a greenhouse with up to 20 artificial lights. These permissions expire on 21 June 2024.
Universities instruct communities
In the midst of the doubts that gravitate around this emerging economic sector, in some academic spaces in New York, orientation spaces are also opening.
Earlier this month Queens College (QC) and Farmingdale State College (FSC) launched an introductory cannabis industry workshop on skills needed to get started to work in this business.
Participants will gain insight into the cannabis industry and have the opportunity to meet with community leaders and successful entrepreneurs.
“ We are pleased to partner in this initiative and help create a path to entrepreneurship. l for populations that had previously been negatively impacted by anti-marijuana legislation,” said Queens College President Frank H. Wu.
Course topics will include an introduction to the cannabis industry in the country, the legal environment for the cannabis industry in New York State, and how to enter and advance in this sector.
“Farmingdale State College is at the center of preparing people to work in this emerging industry, we created this program to reach the populations that can most benefit from this new opportunity”, explained the president of Farmingdale State College, John S. Nader.
This program will take place on and the 18 June in the Building of the a Queens College Flushing Student Union.
!Watch out! It could be very “bad business” for immigrants
- Under the new New York law, those with a marijuana conviction will have this record automatically removed from your criminal record, although this does not include that it will be completely clean in court, if you have also been prosecuted for other types of felonies.
- Because the possession, purchase and sale of cannabis remains a crime under federal law, this “automatic removal” is not necessarily valid for purposes of immigration law.
- Immigrants must do special proceedings before the court, so that a judge can approve that the conviction be completely annulled as a criminal record.
A punishment that weighed more on blacks and Hispanics
- 123000300251.3% of marijuana-related arrests were of Blacks and the 35.2% were Latino between the years 2010 Y 2017 according to a report filed by the New York City Comptroller.
- Eight times more arrests of black and Hispanic people than white people for applications associated with the cannabis law. The contrast is clear: 51.5% vs. 10.5% percent.
- 51% of these neighborhoods are located in parts of the Bronx.
- neighborhoods in the Big Apple with the largest Black and Latino populations, accounted for more than a third (35.1%) of all arrests. And the 10 neighborhoods with populations smaller Black and Latina just 6.9%.805212192
123000300293% of arrests for possession of marijuana in New York City in 2020 involved people from Hispanic or African-American communities, according to statistics shared by Legal Aids