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Jeffrey Hoffman is a New York City-based attorney who hosts “Ask Me Anything about Cannabis Legalization in New York” each week on LinkedIn. Hoffman and NY Cannabis Insider have partnered to bring those sessions into print in a Q&A format.
Hoffman’s practice focuses on cannabis industry clients, including licensees in the adult-use market, practitioners in the medical cannabis space, and cannabis-adjacent product and service providers.
He has a particular interest in social and economic equity cannabis license applicants, and he also informs and assists those convicted of cannabis offenses in getting such convictions expunged from their record. He can be reached at info@420jurist.com.
The following AMA from July 19 has been edited for length and clarity.
What’s new in cannabis in NY?
The big news is that the Cannabis Control Board approved 212 new CAURD licenses, bringing the total to 463. It does look like they are going to attempt to give licenses to as many folks as they can. It is very clear in the messaging that they sent out to the folks that did not get licenses yet that this is not the end that there will be additional days where licenses are given out. I have advocated for a long time for this (including in this publication) – that all the qualifying CAURDs, everyone that applied that had the qualifying conviction and the two year profitable business, be given a license. Originally the limit was 150. They then opened it up to 300. And now almost that many at one meeting.
What about these new grower’s events?
The Cannabis Growers Showcase looks like a very interesting idea. Many of the AUCCs have had challenges selling through their 2022 harvest. The idea behind the CGS is to allow the farmers that grew that first season to do something to at least recover their costs or try to stem their losses. Put together some farmers and a CAURD and they can basically have a farmers market. I think the main challenge to this is going to be the required municipal approval. Will be interesting to see how that plays out. I think there also needs to be an effort to turn whatever can’t be sold into distillate which will have a longer shelf life than the flower.
Do you have suggestions on networking events platforms for experienced cannabis operators to connect with New York license holders for employment opportunities?
Yes – by far the best way to do this is in person. This is true in every industry but especially in cannabis.
Kristin Jordan has a fantastic mailing list – go subscribe to it. I also find Eventbrite has a lot of cannabis events. And at least so far the Cannabis Control Board meeting has been a great place to meet license holders. I mean, what better place to connect with license holders than where they give them out?
Any word on the application and when it will be open to other applicants?
Looks like it has a shot of opening in October. I do hope they release the point system before which they didn’t do for CAURD. And I’m putting a stake in here on today’s show about an issue that folks are going to sleep on related to the application. So minority owned businesses and woman owned businesses are still social and economic equity applicants.
However, in the regs, there is a specific section that talks about issuing licenses to prioritized groups – what I am calling the priority classes for licensing. The number one priority class is the applicants that meet the special priority in MRTA, specifically those who are “a member of a community disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of cannabis prohibition” AND have “an income lower than eighty percent of the median income of the county in which the applicant resides” AND “was convicted of a marihuana-related offense prior to the effective date of [MRTA], or had a parent, guardian, child, spouse, or dependent, or was a dependent of an individual who, prior to the effective date of [MRTA, was convicted of a marihuana-related offense” provided the applicant is seeking to qualify as a social and economic equity applicant.
The number two priority class is distressed farmers. The number three priority class is disabled veterans. The number four priority class is basically the number one priority class without the conviction and the income element. And then the fifth priority class is everybody else. So while woman owned businesses and minority owned businesses are still social and economic equity applicants, the best I can tell is that they are not specifically itemized listed in one of the first four priority classes, which would put them in the fifth priority class.
What are the challenges and issues that are most pressing for you and other CAURD applicants?
Real estate and unreasonable zoning requirements, especially from municipalities on Long Island.
Once the regs are final, we’re going to have to start talking about suing. 1000 feet is too far. I think the 500 feet that is the distance from a school should be the maximum. And frankly, the rule is 200 feet from a church. So it should probably be 500 feet from a school and then for any other restriction, the church restriction of 200 feet should be the max.
Guest, Jayson Tantalo
So the gentleman that’s going to join me now doesn’t really need an introduction, but I’m going to give him one anyway. So Jayson Tantalo is one of the founders of the CAURD Coalition and a CAURD applicant for Finger Lakes.
Jeffrey: A lot of people got cannabis licenses today. I’m sure you’re very proud of a lot of your coalition members, it is very clear that there are going to be additional licenses given – what are your thoughts about almost double the number of CAURDs out there?
Jayson: It’s amazing that many deserving people get the opportunity to sell legal cannabis. That was the whole goal in applying. And they went from 150 to 300 and now 463 and counting. It’s a great opportunity for many of us. It only makes the coalition stronger.
Jeffrey: What are your thoughts about the other recent big news about the farmer’s markets? As I said before, I think the real key is the municipality approval. What are your thoughts about that?
Jason: I think I think it’s a dope opportunity for those that actually execute that.It’s going to be
challenging for the CAURD licensees to navigate through some of the constraints – the security, is it going to have to be recorded, what are we going to store the product in on a hot day – we have to make sure you know that the framework speaks accordingly to the deterioration of the product while it’s sitting. But I think it’s an amazing opportunity, especially to the end consumers, to give them a shot at buying some products from some farmers and get the CAURD licensee the opportunity to put some cash in their pocket.
Jeffrey: What do you see happening in NY cannabis over the next 18 months?
Jayson: In the first half of the year roughly 1.5 stores opened up per month. So in the next 18 months, I can see 130+, especially if there’s money invested into the CAURD licensees. 130+ stores would be great. OCM, by giving us on site consumption and delivery, essentially gave us three licenses in one. I think that was the best thing that OCM has implemented.
Jeffrey: So we’re at 463 dispensary licenses – what do you think is the number of dispensaries that the state of New York can support?
Jayson: New York City is definitely a lot different than upstate in Rochester. So you guys will probably be able to support maybe 1500. Just look at the gray market, take that for an example.