New York state is asking an appeals court to uphold its use of conditional adult-use retail dispensary (CUARD) licenses after the program’s defeat in a lower court helped ground the awarding of marijuana dispensary licenses statewide.
The appeal was filed earlier this week in the Third Department Appellate Division in Albany. The state Cannabis Control Board is appealing an Aug. 18 ruling by state Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bryant of Albany granting a preliminary injunction that prevents the state from awarding CUARD licenses. Bryant reasoned the CUARD licenses aren’t included in the original Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act passed by the state Legislature, and the creation of the CUARD licenses is harming four service-disabled veterans who fear they may not be able to open marijuana dispensaries if CUARD licenses are awarded before the veterans are allowed to submit applications.
The state is specifically asking the appellate court to consider whether Bryant was wrong in finding a strong likelihood that the veterans’ claims will succeed during trial in the following areas: the CUARD licensing program violates the MRTA, if the CUARD licensing program violates the separation of powers doctine, that the veterans established irreparable harm, and that the