New York Approves Another 36 Adult-Use Cultivation Licenses

New York regulators on Thursday approved another 36 conditional adult-use cannabis cultivation licenses, bringing the total to 88, Syracuse.com reports. Chris Alexander, executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management, said during the meeting that the agency has received about additional 200 applications, and will submit more for final approval.

“There are stringent background, compliance checks going on currently. I think that we have another 100 or so that could be coming along the pipeline quickly.” – Alexander to Syracuse.com

Conditional license holders can begin cultivating cannabis outdoors or in a greenhouse with up to 20 lights and will have to apply for final licenses by June 1 – the temporary licenses will expire June 30, 2024.

The license approvals come less than a week after Cannabis Control Board Chair Tremaine Wright, the state’s top regulator, indicated adult-use products could be available from conditional licenses in the fall. Alexander has said that while sales would begin by the cohort in the fall, sales from general licensed businesses likely wouldn’t begin until the end of this year or early next year.

The conditional licenses are for farmers and businesses currently licensed to grow hemp. The bill creating the licenses was signed into law by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in February.