BUFFALO, N.Y. — Legal marijuana could be making its way to Western New York shelves, sooner rather than later.
2 On Your Side has learned the Cannabis Control Board could approve four Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses for Western New York during their meeting Monday. If approved, these would become the first dispensaries in our region.
In previous reporting, attorneys told WGRZ that once licenses are issued, the stores could open by the end of the month.
2 On Your Side first learned Tuesday night, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the state can start awarding marijuana store licenses here in Western New York.
This ruling means that only licenses in the Finger Lakes Region are still held up while that lawsuit plays out in court, and that opens the door for the state to issue licenses here. That lawsuit originally impacted dispensary licenses in five regions, including Western New York.
The plaintiff argues the application process to get a license to open a marijuana store in New York State was unconstitutional, and their application was rejected because one of their principal applicant partners was convicted of a marijuana-related crime outside of New York.
The Cannabis Control Board meets Monday morning at 10. The meeting is in Brooklyn, but it's being streamed online. One of the first things on the agenda is to talk about issuing more dispensary licenses.
WGRZ will be listening in to the meeting and will bring you any updates as soon as they become available.