A dozen NYC-based cannabis businesses are suing to block the state Office of Cannabis Management from enforcing a newly reinterpreted school-distance rule, arguing the abrupt reversal threatens to wipe out their businesses and undermine the state’s equity goals.
The group is among 152 dispensaries and license holders affected by the OCM’s decision last month to reinterpret its buffer rule to measure from a school’s property line rather than its entrance.
Seven of the businesses — ConBud, Summit Canna LLC, The Cannabis Place, Hush, High Fade, Housing Works Cannabis Co., and Common Courtesy Dispensary LLC — hold final licenses from the Cannabis Control Board and operate at locations previously reviewed and approved under the old standard.
The other five — Rezidue, Elise Pelka LLC, Luxe Leaf Boutique LLC, Toastree LLC, and Monarch NYC LLC — have provisional licenses.
According to the lawsuit, all have invested heavily in their locations, with three completing build-outs and awaiting final virtual inspections.
In the complaint filed Friday in Albany County Supreme Court, the group says the OCM and Cannabis Control Board repeatedly confirmed their sites met the law, prompting them to sign long-term leases, invest over $1 million each in renovations, hire staff, and, in most cases, open their doors.
Cannabis businesses caught in ‘limbo period’
The OCM and Gov. Kathy Hochul have pledged support for impacted dispensaries and applicants, and that all licensees impacted by OCM’s proximity correction can continue to operate fully. They say license holders with renewals due during the “limbo period” can continue operating under the State Administrative Procedure Act.
They say a legislative fix should be considered when lawmakers return in January, though they have acknowledged it is not guaranteed.
Those affected have urged swifter action, calling for a special legislative session in October to pass a bill from state Sen. Luis Sepúlveda that would grandfather in any licenses approved in error.
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