

It will also provide licensees with immediate access to capital through low-interest loans and grants, along with administrative support to become operational as quickly as possible. This stopgap bill will codify CAURD licenses. Jeremy Cooney, can be a lifeline for regulators and shore up New York’s cannabis programs - both adult-use and medical - before they become past the point of saving. The CAUTA, recently introduced by state Sen. Yet, two years later, New York’s cannabis program looks nothing like the one envisioned, and victims of cannabis prohibition are in danger of becoming victims of a failed legal cannabis program.īut hope is not lost. Thousands of New Yorkers like me were promised the opportunity of redemption in what should be a highly profitable, legal market. While the state has recently taken steps to address the illicit market, unregulated dispensaries continue to operate, putting consumers unnecessarily at risk. Meanwhile, social-equity cannabis entrepreneurs who are operational are struggling to compete with the booming illicit market.
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I also co-founded the New York CAURD Coalition, an organization that works to support and provide resources to CAURD applicants and license holders.ĭue to the state’s incredibly slow roll-out of the adult-use market, CAURD licensees are having trouble accessing the capital, locations, and resources they need to open their doors. Albany must act quickly to pass S.7045 - the Cannabis Adult-Use Transition Act - to address challenges in the legal market before it collapses altogether.īased on my successful business history and my past cannabis conviction, I applied for a Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary license as a minority-run business. Two years later, the state has failed to realize the MRTA’s promises, and justice-involved licensees like me are teetering on the edge of crisis. The MRTA established a blueprint for making New York a national leader in social equity, prioritizing benefits and participation for individuals and communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs. We were incredibly excited by the 2021 Marihuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA), which promised to give people with stories and records like mine a change to reap the rewards of the emerging legal adult-use market. After a lot of hard work, we have grown our start-up enterprise into a nationwide operation that services hundreds of retail stores across the country.

In 2014, I launched an indoor cannabis growing equipment wholesaler and supplier with my husband and business partner. Instead, I turned to entrepreneurship, which - ironically - led me to the legal cannabis market.
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As a result, a lot of professional doors were closed to me. Months later, I was convicted and had a criminal record. David Robinson, I was just 17 years old, the trajectory of my life was significantly altered when I was pulled over not far from my family’s home by a local police officer who searched my vehicle.īy the night’s end, I had been charged with drug possession.
