Settlement talks broke down promptly in the high-profile legal battle over the future of cannabis dispensary licenses in New York, leaving the case on track to be decided by a judge later this month, court records show.
The state Attorney General's Office has withdrawn from settlement negotiations that began following a court hearing Friday, according to a statement from the Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis, which represents several medical cannabis companies in New York interested in expanding into the state's adult-use market as well as several social equity applicants.
The negotiations sought to settle two separate but related lawsuits filed by the cannabis trade group and service-disabled veterans. The lawsuits both claim, in part, that state regulators unconstitutionally favored people impacted by past cannabis prohibition enforcement in awarding initial dispensary licenses.
Justice Kevin Bryant last week issued a temporary restraining order blocking new dispensary licenses statewide. He also called on attorneys in both cases to reach a speedy compromise to avoid a potentially lengthy legal battle, which could prove devastating to the fledgling legal cannabis industry.
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