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Over 900 Applicants Are Seeking Entry into NY’s Retail Cannabis Market

Those applying for adult-use cannabis retail licenses in New York state face a lot of competition. According to the most recent information from the Office of Cannabis Management, 903 applicants have completed the process for the 150 available adult-use marijuana retail licenses. Officials have not specified when they plan to announce the license winners. Priority for licensing will go to those with a prior cannabis-related conviction and those with demonstrated business acuity. Sales are expected to officially launch later this year or early next year.   

Economic Analysis Finds Arkansas Cannabis Legalization Could Result in Nearly $1 Billion in Annual Sales

The group behind Arkansas’ legalization initiative, Responsible Growth Arkansas, has commissioned an economic analysis report on the impact legalizing cannabis would have on the state. The analysis was conducted by the Arkansas Economic Development Institute (AEDI). The report showed that if voters pass the initiative this November, it could result in almost $1 billion in sales every year and over $460 million in tax revenue over five years. Micheal Pakko, the chief economist with AEDI, said in a press release that cannabis legalization would add roughly 6,400 jobs to Arkansas’ economy by 2027. Recent polling suggests that legalization stands a good chance in the state, with approximately 59 percent of voters likely to approve the initiative. 

Yet Another Study Finds that Legal Access to MMJ Reduces Opioid Use

A recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Substance Use and Misuse found that patients with legal access to medical marijuana were able to reduce their reliance on opioids. The study was conducted by researchers with the Florida State University College of Medicine and Emerald Coast Research firm. They surveyed 2,183 patients from medical marijuana dispensaries around Florida to ask them about the effect medical marijuana has had on their quality of life. According to the results, just over 90 percent of those surveyed said that medical cannabis was “very or extremely helpful in treating their medical condition”. In addition, 85.9 percent of survey respondents said that medical marijuana aided in pain reduction. This finding was linked to the fact that 79 percent of individuals surveyed who were taking opioid painkillers said they were able to reduce or even stop their use of opioids once they started using cannabis. 

The post Over 900 Applicants Are Seeking Entry into NY’s Retail Cannabis Market, Economic Analysis Finds Arkansas Cannabis Legalization Could Result in Nearly $1 Billion in Annual Sales, and Yet Another Study Finds that Legal Access to MMJ Reduces Opioid Use first appeared on The Marijuana Times.

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Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) cheered President Joe Biden’s move to issue federal marijuana pardons in a new interview, but he says there’s “more that we can do” to address the drug war and he’s “very hopeful” that additional reform can be enacted before the end of this Congress.

The senator, who is sponsoring a federal legalization bill with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), spoke about the need to more comprehensively address cannabis policy during an interview with NPR on Friday.

He called Biden’s pardon proclamation and directive for an administrative marijuana scheduling review a “significant step” from the White House. However, he made the case that “we still have longer to go” to right the wrongs of prohibition, by facilitating expungements, for example.

Booker said that he is optimistic that legalization could be enacted, even though the general consensus is that his wide-ranging legislation doesn’t have enough bipartisan support to meet the 60-vote threshold needed to clear the Senate. He pointed out that voters in red and blue states alike have approved ending prohibition at the ballot.

“I think that there’s enough space right now—and there are already conversations and dialogue going on about some kind of bipartisan movement—because we see problems within the banking industry and a lot of people who are winning licenses can’t get access to loans and more,” he said.

“So there’s a lot of folks who understand that we have to act on the federal level to do more than the president’s done, and I’m hopeful that this Congress, actually in the lame duck after the midterms, I’m very hopeful we can get something done,” Booker said.

The senator seemed to be alluding to a yet-to-be-introduced package of modest marijuana reform proposals that’s expected to address marijuana banking issues. He’s said that the bill will likely be introduced after the midterm elections.

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Schumer separately spoke about marijuana banking issues at a recent White House event, reiterating that he was working on the problem, according to the House sponsor.

The conversation between Schumer and Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) happened at an event on inflation reduction and happened to coincide with the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) lobby days, with over 100 marijuana business leaders on Capitol Hill to push for the passage of the SAFE Banking Act.

Perlmutter said at an NCIA-organized press conference that he’s increasingly tempted to “go to the nuclear option” in the House Rules Committee of “holding up” separate legislation like the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in order to get the marijuana banking measure enacted.

The congressman and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the Senate sponsor of the SAFE Banking Act, also outlined next steps for the cannabis banking reform at a briefing organized by the U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC) in July.

Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC) released a paper in August that outlined what they view as shortcomings of the standalone SAFE Banking Act and recommended several amendments to bolster its equity impact.

Booker said at an event organized by CRCC that the standalone legislation “requires changes” if it’s going to advance before cannabis is federally legalized.

The senator initially signaled that he was coming around to marijuana banking reform (contingent on equity provisions) at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing in July that he convened as chairman.

Meanwhile, Perlmutter also said in a recent interview that he feels the introduction of the Senate legalization bill alone means that lawmakers have overcome a legislative “hurdle” that’s kept SAFE Banking from advancing in the chamber.

On Monday, the governor of Colorado and other top state officials again pushed Congress to pass a bipartisan marijuana banking bill with what’s left of the session.

Meanwhile, with respect to Biden’s surprise marijuana announcement last week, federal agencies like the Justice Department and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have committed to quickly processing the federal cannabis pardons and carrying out a review into federal marijuana scheduling.

Biden also called on governors to follow the administration’s lead by providing relief to people with simple cannabis possession convictions at the state level, where the bulk of marijuana cases are prosecuted. Some governors have said that they’re reviewing their authority to that end.

A poll released on Friday found that a majority of Americans are in favor of Biden’s pardon proclamation, and most also want to see their own governors follow suit with state-level cannabis relief.

Vice President Kamala Harris Touts Federal Marijuana Pardons Afters Months Of Silence On Cannabis Reform

The post Booker Is ‘Very Hopeful’ Congress Will Pass Marijuana Reforms In Lame Duck Session Following Biden’s Pardons appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

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Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday touted President Joe Biden’s decision to grant mass federal marijuana pardons, ending her months-long hiatus from publicly speaking on cannabis policy issues.

The vice president, who like Biden campaigned on marijuana reform but has generally avoided addressing the topic since taking office, briefly discussed the pardon proclamation during a Texas Democratic Party reception.

After highlighting the president’s appointment of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Harris said “speaking of the system of justice, we are also changing—y’all might have heard that this week—the federal government’s approach to marijuana.”

.@VP Harris on simple possession of marijuana pardons: "Speaking of the system of justice, we are also changing […] the federal government's approach to marijuana, because the bottom line there is nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed." https://t.co/4XdaGZJ0M8 pic.twitter.com/xMYU9ydpcM

— The Hill (@thehill) October 9, 2022

“Because the bottom line there is: Nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed,” she said.

Harris also acknowledged the president’s actions in a tweet on the day the proclamation was announced, saying it represented a “step forward in correcting the historic injustices of failed drug policies.”

Today, @POTUS pardoned all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. He has asked @SecBecerra and the Attorney General to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.

This is a step forward in correcting the historical injustices of failed drug policies.

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) October 6, 2022

The last time that the vice president publicly talked about marijuana policy was in April 2021, when she said that the administration was too busy dealing with “all-consuming” issues like vaccine distribution to take action on cannabis.

Her general silence on marijuana reform has been a source of frustration for advocates who’d hoped that having Harris in the White House would help expedite reform given her background as a senator who sponsored a comprehensive cannabis legalization bill and repeatedly called for systemic policy changes during he own presidential campaign before joining Biden’s presidential ticket.

It was reported in March 2021 that Harris had adopted Biden’s more scaled-back stance on marijuana reform. The president continues to oppose adult-use legalization, though he’s backed decriminalization and letting states set their own cannabis policies without federal interference.

In 2020, after accepting the vice presidential nomination, she said simply that “we will decriminalize the use of marijuana and automatically expunge all marijuana use convictions and incarceration for drug use alone.”

Even that position represents a significant evolution compared to how Harris talked about the issue during her time as a prosecutor.

In 2010, she coauthored an official voter guide argument opposing a California cannabis legalization measure. She also laughed in the face of a reporter who asked her about the issue in 2014.

That’s despite the fact that, by Harris’s own admission in 2019 that she personally smoked marijuana during her time in college. She said in an interview that cannabis “gives a lot of people joy, and we need more joy in the world.”

In any case, while both Harris and Biden campaigned on the idea that people shouldn’t be incarcerated over cannabis, the presidential pardon proclamation that was issued last week only covers federal possession cases and people who’ve committed the low-level offense in Washington, D.C.

Biden did separately call on governors across the country to follow the administration’s lead by facilitating relief at the state level, where the vast majority of cannabis cases are prosecuted. Some governors have since said that they would be reviewing the action.

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Several Cabinet-level officials have celebrated Biden’s cannabis reform actions, including the heads of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and Department of Labor.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) also said that they would move to quickly process the pardons and carry out the scheduling review, which could have significant implications for federal cannabis policy depending on the eventual recommendation.

A poll released on Friday found that a majority of Americans are in favor of Biden’s pardon proclamation, and most also want to see their own governors follow suit with state-level cannabis relief.

Biden Health Secretary Has Already Talked To FDA About Marijuana Scheduling Review, Which Will Move ‘Quickly’

Photo element courtesy of California Attorney General’s Office.

The post Vice President Kamala Harris Touts Federal Marijuana Pardons Afters Months Of Silence On Cannabis Reform appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

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The governor of Colorado and other top state officials are again pushing Congress to pass a bipartisan marijuana banking bill with what’s left of the session.

Gov. Jared Polis (D), Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera (D), Attorney General Phil Weiser (D), Treasurer Dave Young (D) and Department of Public Safety (DPS) Executive Director Stan Hilkey sent a letter to congressional leaders on Monday to drive home the urgency of the legislation in terms of public safety and industry equity.

“The lack of safe banking and financial services for the cannabis industry in the State of Colorado has become a dire public safety issue for highly regulated cannabis businesses operating in compliance with state law,” the officials wrote to House and Senate leaders.

“Further, the lack of safe banking exacerbates the uneven playing field faced by small and minority-owned cannabis businesses, despite their serving the same communities and being subject to the same increased state regulation as other cannabis businesses in the State,” they said.

The letter comes in the backdrop of news from the White House that President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of Americans who’ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses and initiated an administrative scheduling review of cannabis.

While advocates have widely cheered the development, many are still holding out hope that Congress will act on marijuana reform during the lame duck session following the midterm elections. The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act from Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) is generally considered the base of what lawmakers could pass.

“We are proud of the robust cannabis structure established in our state that protects public safety, supports responsible innovation and importantly, enhances the myriad economic development and social benefits the industry has provided to all Coloradans, especially minority-, women-, and veteran-owned small businesses,” the Colorado leaders’ letter says.

“This industry has served as a model internationally and helped to make Colorado an even stronger part of our nation’s overall competitiveness and contributor to our nation’s deficit reduction efforts,” it continues. “However, all of these successes are undermined and, in fact, nullified for many businesses by their lack of access to federally-insured banking services and electronic payment processing, among other services currently available to less regulated businesses.”

The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and treasurer have each advocated for the passage of the bipartisan banking bill in the past, but it’s notable that the head of DPS joined the officials on this letter. Hilkey’s department oversees law enforcement agencies like the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and State Patrol.

As the officials pointed out, the SAFE Banking Act has passed the House in some form seven times now, only to stall in the Senate under Republican and Democratic control. Senate leadership is reportedly moving to enact the reform as part of a package of marijuana proposals that’s being finalized, however.

“We applaud and support larger efforts between the House and the Senate to address legalization and reform nationally,” they said. “However, we understand such efforts continue to be ongoing and that the pathway toward enactment is uncertain at this time.”

“Therefore, given the demonstrated broad support for the SAFE Banking Act, coupled with the undeniably strong public policy demands for the immediate relief this legislation will provide, we strongly urge you to take action now and ensure that licensed cannabis businesses have access to banking and financial services. Passage and enactment of the SAFE Banking Act will protect cannabis-related businesses, support minority-, women-, and veteran-owned small businesses owners, create jobs, and strengthen public safety in our communities and in the states.”

“We urge Congress to take real stories, such as those in our state of Colorado, to heart and to efficiently prioritize policy approaches that promote safe banking and public safety,” the letter concludes.

Members of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST), including Young, recently reaffirmed the organization’s support for a resolution voicing support for the SAFE Banking Act. Young told Marijuana Moment that the status quo has created a “21st century Wild West in which armed hold ups and storefront heists are becoming an all-too-common risk.”

Colorado’s attorney general also led a letter to Senate leadership in April that similarly underscores the need to enact the banking reform.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)—who sponsored a comprehensive legalization bill that was filed in July with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR)—has increasingly signaled his interest in advancing cannabis banking legislation even as he pushes for broader reform.

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Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,500 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
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Schumer separately spoke about the banking issue at a White House event, reiterating that he was working on the problem, according to the House sponsor.

The conversation between Schumer and Perlmutter happened at an event on inflation reduction and happened to coincide with the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) lobby days, with over 100 marijuana business leaders on Capitol Hill to push for the passage of the SAFE Banking Act.

The expectation is that leadership will include banking in the in-the-works marijuana omnibus legislation, in addition to potential proposals on cannabis research, veterans medical marijuana access and more.

Perlmutter said at an NCIA-organized press conference that he’s increasingly tempted to “go to the nuclear option” in the House Rules Committee of “holding up” separate legislation like the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in order to get the marijuana banking measure enacted.

The congressman and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the Senate sponsor of the SAFE Banking Act, also outlined next steps for the cannabis banking reform at a briefing organized by the U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC) in July.

Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC) released a paper in August that outlined what they view as shortcomings of the standalone SAFE Banking Act and recommended several amendments to bolster its equity impact.

Booker said at an event organized by CRCC that the standalone legislation “requires changes” if it’s going to advance before cannabis is federally legalized.

The senator initially signaled that he was coming around to marijuana banking reform (contingent on equity provisions) at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing in July that he convened as chairman.

Meanwhile, Perlmutter also said in a recent interview that he feels the introduction of the Senate legalization bill alone means that lawmakers have overcome a legislative “hurdle” that’s kept SAFE Banking from advancing in the chamber.

A recent poll found that Republican voters are on board with a number of marijuana reform proposals—from medical cannabis legalization to expungements for prior marijuana convictions to letting states set their own policies without federal interference.

According to a poll from Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) that was released in September, a majority of American voters (65 percent) support allowing banks to work with state-legal marijuana businesses—and most people believe it will both improve public safety and promote social equity.

The survey results are consistent with the findings of a separate poll from the American Bankers Association (ABA) that was released in March. It also showed that 65 percent of Americans back the marijuana banking reform.

Separately, the non-partisan National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) recently voted to adopt a revised policy directive that expresses support for federal marijuana descheduling and cannabis banking reform amid the state-level legalization movement.

Read the letter from the Colorado officials on marijuana banking reform below: 

GOP Congressmen Urge Biden To Protect Tribal Marijuana Programs As He Orders Federal Cannabis Review

The post Colorado Governor And Top Officials Call On Congress To Pass Marijuana Banking Bill appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

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This story was republished with permission from Crain’s New York Business and written by Natalie Sachmechi.

Running a local smoke shop is a good business, said Adeeb Al-Saeidi, a partner at a family-run chain of about 25 in the city.

“If we buy a bong for $10, we sell it for $60 or $70. Some bongs can sell for as much as $200,” said Al-Saeidi, whose stores sell e-cigarettes, smoking accessories and convenience items. “We started seeing money in it. It’s really good.”

All around the city, smoke shops have been popping up like weeds, but not always just to sell tobacco, bongs and other paraphernalia. Some retailers, unlike Al-Saeidi, hope to procure a coveted retail license to sell cannabis legally once they become widely available. For now, the first round of licenses will be awarded only to those who were previously convicted of marijuana-related crimes. The application window for those licenses closed last month, but the broader applicant pool hasn’t opened yet.

Across the boroughs, there are 1,458 businesses registered as convenience stores that sell tobacco products or are tobacco retailers, according to data from the state’s Department of Health. Of those, 341 are located in Manhattan, Queens has 371, Brooklyn has 431, the Bronx has 216, and Staten Island has 99. These are separate from bodegas, which are registered as grocery stores.

And with the legalized recreational marijuana market expected to get off the ground in the state in the coming months, business is bound to start booming for those that choose to add the drug to their inventory.

Kassin-Sabbagh Realty broker Albert Manopla has a client on Third Avenue on the Upper East Side that is leasing space with a growth plan in mind.

“They are opening it as a smoke shop, and the idea is, if they get their [marijuana] license, then they’ll roll it into what they’re doing,” he said. “I’ve seen people take multiple stores and operate them as smoke shops for now.”

A budding business ​​​​​

Even before the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act was signed into law on March 31, 2021, legalizing adult recreational marijuana use, the number of smoke shops in the city was growing rapidly.

An application for a license to run a conditional adult-use retail dispensary for the formerly incarcerated, who get to apply first because of equity regulations overseen by the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, which the law created, is $2,000, according to the office. The yearly cost of maintaining the license has not been decided yet. The office says it received 903 applications for a social equity license.

The Office of Cannabis Management said it also hasn’t decided when to open the application process for others seeking to sell adult-use marijuana, but it will be sometime next year. It still has not decided how much those licenses and their maintenance fees will be.

These days a permit to operate a tobacco or cigarette dealership goes for $150 to $200, while a liquor store permit is $4,000. Those licenses are overseen by the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and the state Liquor Authority, respectively.

In 2016 there were 1,710 applications for cigarette dealer licenses in the city and 1,505 in 2017. By 2018, when the electronic cigarette craze was in full swing, businesses filed 3,357 applications to sell the devices alone, according to data from the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.

In response to the surge in interest and with the intention of curbing tobacco use, the City Council voted in 2018 to cap the number of licenses that would be available at 50% of the number already issued across all community districts.

Today the number of applications has dropped significantly. Since 2019 the city has reported an average of 351 applications per year for tobacco dealer licenses, 73% of which were for changes in ownership rather than for new smoke shop businesses.

Shops that sell only accessories and paraphernalia like bongs and not tobacco products, however, don’t need a license to do so, said Department of Consumer and Worker Protection spokesman Michael Lanza, so that data is not tracked. Those businesses can apply for a separate marijuana dealer license when they become available.

Before they can apply, though, they must show that they’ve either purchased or leased real estate that is eligible for use as a recreational-use dispensary. That means the financing on the property has no legal objections to marijuana sales in the building, because the drug is still banned federally, and that it’s at least 500 feet from a school or 200 feet from a house of worship.

During the pandemic, landlords started offering up their spaces at steep discounts. Al-Saeidi’s family began picking up cheap retail sites, mostly in Manhattan, to open new smoke shops. Between 2020 and 2021, the family expanded its portfolio by 12.

“Places you wished you could have rented before Covid-19 for $20,000 [per month], you got after Covid-19 for $10,000,” he said. “Before you had to beg the landlord. Today the landlord begs you.”

“A lot of them are really making money on the vapor [e-cigarette] products. It’s a very high-margin business that lets them take small spaces at high rents and outcompete traditional retailers,” Manopla said.

Some stores can be as small as 200 square feet, or the size of a college dorm room in Manhattan.

“That’s how they’re ending up in all these spots where you say, ‘How the hell did this even come here?’ ” he said.

Seeds of crime

According to Manopla, some smoke shops, tired of waiting for the cannabis market to officially roll out, have begun selling the product illegally.

In some cases, the stores can be hotspots for crime.

Last month a Lower East Side cashier was shot while defending a smoke shop from thieves. A similar incident occurred in a shop on the Upper West Side.

Since the pandemic began, crime has picked up in Al-Saeidi’s shops, he said, mostly with people running out with merchandise, but his employees also have been robbed at gunpoint.

As such, some commercial landlords are wary of the businesses—as are some neighbors. In September the co-op board at 200 Central Park South sued Ben Ashkenazy, who owns the retail berth at the base of the building, for allegedly allowing a smoke shop to sign a lease there. The case has since been discontinued, court records show.

At the moment, the state’s Dormitory Authority is scouting appropriate retail spaces to lease for the first round of weed dispensary licensees.

The state will lease up to 150 spaces, then sublease them to the dispensary owners, with the expectation of the first marijuana sales taking place by the end of the year, though real estate experts have been skeptical of that timeline.

No leases have been signed yet, but the state is working with a team at CBRE to get contracts out.

The Dormitory Authority is “currently in active discussions with well over 50 property owners,” said spokesman Jeffrey Gordon, and firms have been selected to perform the construction and build-outs.

Passing on puff

Al-Saeidi’s father and uncle, immigrants from Yemen, started the business after they grew tired of running delis. “It’s much easier to run a smoke shop than a deli,” Al-Saeidi said. “You just need one or two employees, and everything is on the shelf. You just have to sell.”

Depending on the store, each one makes between $100,000 and $400,000 per year, he added.

Although vapor products, bongs and instruments to grind up marijuana are the best-selling items in his stores, selling cannabis is off the table for him.

“Weed, at the end of the day, is a drug to us. We’re from the Middle East,” Al-Saeidi said. “The last thing I want my father to find out is that I’m selling weed.”

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