NY Cannabis Control Board (CCB) officially adopts new Public Convenience and Advantage (PCA) rules, effective November 5, 2025.

These changes redefine how close dispensaries can be to each other—and how hard it’ll be to get a PCA waiver approved.

Here’s the short version:
(1) No more PCA waivers within 500 feet in large municipalities or 1,000 feet in smaller ones.

(2) Between 500–1,000 feet (cities) or 1,000–2,000 feet (small towns), you can apply for a waiver only if:
(a) the nearby store has been open at least 9 months, and
(b) you can prove the new site serves “public convenience and advantage.”

(3) If there are already two dispensaries of the same type within that radius, no waiver at all.

(4) Applicants now have to notify the municipality and nearby licensees 45 days before OCM review, and both get to comment publicly.

(5) The Board will look at measurable factors like travel distance, geography, demand, and illicit market impact—not just vague “need.”

This is a big shift. The PCA process just went from discretionary to data-driven, and it heavily favors existing operators that have already been open nine months or longer, and for newly licensed pre-operation locations.

For anyone with pending or planned locations, this rule changes the math on proximity and timing.