Why are there so many unlicensed marijuana stores in New York City?

He has filed a lengthy application to become one of about 900 hopefuls for a first round of 150 licenses, only to face fresh uncertainty from a court ruling last week. It temporarily prevents the state from giving the green light to pharmacies in Krupitsky’s home area of ​​Brooklyn and some other regions.

Meanwhile, unauthorized pot shops have sprung up in droves.

Shops that openly sell marijuana can now be found throughout New York City and are run by people who shrug off the licensing requirements.

“This is unfair competition,” Kuritsky said. “Everyone just says ‘sit and wait’ and in the meantime I see store after store and they make their money. I sit around and wait to get it right.”

Under pressure to open one of the most hotly anticipated legal marijuana markets in the country, the state’s Cannabis Control Board will on Monday consider granting some dispensary licenses to entrepreneurs and nonprofit groups — a key move that comes as cannabis regulators emphasize that they are trying to stop unlicensed sellers.

“There can be no legal, regulated market operating side-by-side with an illegal market – it undermines the goals of the state’s cannabis law to protect public health and build an equitable market that works to reverse the harm done.” caused by disproportionate enforcement of cannabis prohibition,” Office of Cannabis Management spokesman Aaron Ghitelman said in a statement.

New York legalized recreational marijuana use in March 2021, but is still in the process of licensing people to sell it.

It reserved its first round of retail recreational cannabis licenses for applicants with marijuana convictions or their relatives, as well as some nonprofit groups. It also planned a $200 million public-private fund to help “social justice” claimants.

Officials even set about finding, designing and renovating storefronts for the for-profit entrepreneurs who have to sublet a state-designated space and pay back the renovation costs.

Ten teams from design and construction firms have been selected, and the state is speaking to landlords about dozens of locations. About 20 are undergoing preliminary design reviews, said Jeffrey Gordon, a spokesman for the state engineering department, known as DASNY. To pay for all of this, the state set up the equity fund and is working to raise private money, he said.

Gordon said the agency is aiming to have several dispensaries ready by the end of the year but has encountered “unexpected delays,” including the court case challenging parts of the state’s criteria for applicants.

“However, many of the elements are in place and ready to move forward,” he said.

As this effort unfolds, some people have simply rented shop space and started selling pot without permission.

Empire Cannabis Club already has one location in Brooklyn, two in Manhattan, and plans to add more. Owner Jonathan Elfand says the annual club sells marijuana products at cost to thousands of members who pay daily or monthly fees.

He argues the operation is legal. The state disagrees, but Elfand is undeterred and says he would welcome litigation.

“If you think we’re doing something wrong, please bring the fight. We’re ready,” said Elfand, who also applied for a pharmacy license.

The Cannabis Bureau has ordered Empire and dozens of other companies to stop selling cannabis, and the agency is working with local law enforcement to crack down.

Enforcement can take the form of violations, but there have also been arrests. Searches at a store in suburban Buffalo in February and at a store in Brooklyn on Wednesday led to charges of marijuana possession.

“We will take all the legal steps we can” to make sure people understand they can’t sell unregulated weed with impunity, said New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda.

His office and the New York City Police Department have also invoked parking and sale statutes to tow trucks suspected of selling weed.

Craig Sweat and his associates operated a fleet of “Uncle Budd” trucks that were impounded in September. He says they didn’t sell marijuana but gave it to people who donated. Despite the confiscation, he doubts the authorities are keen on a wholesale shutdown of illegal businesses; it would be tantamount to “recriminalizing marijuana,” he says.

The state Senate in June passed a proposal to increase fines for illegal sales and make unlicensed sales a misdemeanor. The measure has stalled in the assembly, but sponsor Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat, says she is “optimistic” about tackling the issue next year.

Among the pharmacy applicants hoping to be approved Monday is Jessica Naissant, who believes she is an ideal candidate. A first generation Haitian American, until recently she had a business selling the non-intoxicating, federally legal cannabis chemical CBD. She volunteers to speak to church groups and others about legalizing marijuana. And she has a qualifying arrest record — a 2016 cannabis possession charge, she said.

“I definitely didn’t want to miss this opportunity,” said Naissant.

But now she’s worried about how last week’s court ruling will affect her prospects, as she’s listed her hometown of Brooklyn as her location of choice.

“It sure is bittersweet,” she said.

Alongside aspiring sellers, hundreds of hemp farmers who recently planted New York’s first legal marijuana crop are seeking clarity on when dispensaries will open to market their crop.

“They don’t really have many options other than waiting and hoping they don’t end up taking losses,” said Dan Livingston of the Cannabis Association of New York, a trade group.

Whatever the creases, New York’s approach to legalization has received some credit for innovation and an emphasis on justice, and applicant’s attorney and cannabis attorney, Scheril Murray Powell, advises patience. As Chief Operating Officer of the Justus Foundation, she works to help longtime sellers become legal.

“They’ve waited for this moment for decades, and I think everyone is committed to making sure it happens right,” she said. “Another couple of months isn’t that long to get it right.”