The more than 400 Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licensees whose businesses are stuck in limbo under a court order could soon be free to open up shop as an end appears imminent in a lawsuit filed in August by a group of service-disabled veterans.
New York regulators have reached a settlement with the four plaintiffs, who argue that the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) violated state law when it excluded them and other groups from cannabis licensing opportunities in New York.
The settlement is still pending finalization, according to a Forbes report, but it is expected to result in the lifting of a temporary injunction that has halted the licensing process since August.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled a “Seeding Opportunity Initiative” in March 2022 to prioritize social equity applicants in the adult-use cannabis licensing process. The plan included issuing CAURD licenses to those with past cannabis-related convictions and nonprofit organizations that assist or provide services to those individuals.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit—Carmine Fiore, William Norgard, Steve Mejia and Dominic Spaccio—argue that state regulators exceeded their authority by opening the first licensing application window to only those with cannabis-related offenses and their immediate family members. This licensing