Ooops, Can You Move Your Store?

NYS’s OCM (Office of Cannabis Management) made a massive mistake approving over a hundred dispensary licenses in locations that are too close to schools. In their glory, they have gone back to these operators, telling them that their locations are no longer valid, even though the OCM approved them through their process.

Of course, they have now found $15M to help dispensaries fix the mistake, which is roughly $150k to each dispensary, although I have heard the number $250K per dispensary is being tossed around. There was limited, if any, cash to help those social equity operators, but miraculously, there is now cash. Many of these operators have yet to open, have spent all of their savings, and now they are being told to move?

The cost of breaking a lease, finding a new location, building it out, getting the store up to code for cannabis use, buying inventory, hiring staff, and more far exceeds $250k per store. I thought NYS was going to help people build businesses and wealth for their families; it appears that is not the case.

Why don’t they grandfather all of these dispensaries in at their current locations? The lawsuits are only beginning, and of course, that costs money too.

As a participant in this industry, it is utterly mind-boggling what happens daily, but this is the icing on the cake. This industry is nascent and will only get bigger over time, with tremendous tax benefits to the state as federal money dries up.

What a shit show.