After receiving “thousands” of cannabis business license applications since the latest permitting window opened on Oct. 4, New York cannabis regulators on Tuesday green-lit a two-week extension for the submission period. Entrepreneurs will now be allowed to apply until Dec. 18.
At the latest meeting of the state’s Cannabis Control Board, members voted unanimously to extend the licensing period from its original end date of Dec. 4, saying they wanted to give stakeholders more time to throw their hats into the proverbial ring for retail, cultivation, processor, distribution, and microbusiness licenses.
When pressed by CCB Chairwoman Tremaine Wright on how many applications the agency had received thus far, OCM Executive Director Chris Alexander said he didn’t have a firm number but that it was easily in the “thousands” and more were incoming every day.
“We definitely have a lot of interest, but the exact count just keeps moving,” Alexander said. The CCB also approved a change to the enforcement rules for OCM staff that allows them to issue certificates of compliance to unlicensed cannabis dealers whom are issued citations. The move is part of the agency’s ongoing quest to shut down illicit cannabis shops via civil action instead of criminal penalties.
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