New York could soon start to get more recreational marijuana dispensaries after a judge on Friday approved legal settlements to end lawsuits that halted the state’s legal cannabis licensing program.
The settlements lift a court order that has blocked the state from processing or issuing retail marijuana licenses since August. State officials said the agreement will allow more than 400 potential retailers to move forward with pending applications to open storefronts.
“With this settlement behind us, hundreds of new licenses can now move forward, new stores will open, and consumers can legally buy safer, legal, tested cannabis products from New York-based entrepreneurs and small businesses,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
It really shouldn’t be… And personally I think it makes zero sense for the DEA to both schedule substances and police them, because it creates an obvious conflict of interest that got us here in the first place. But here we are.