NY’s 1st batch of marijuana shop licenses is doubling to 300
New York is doubling the number of licenses it’s awarding for a first round of legal marijuana shops, regulators announced Thursday, though only a fraction of the dispensaries already authorized have opened so far and a court ruling has put licensing on hold in some areas.
Nearly two years after legalizing recreational marijuana for adult use, New York continues working to get its potentially large legal market into high gear. So far, 66 dispensary licenses have been awarded, and four shops have opened, three of them in New York City. The first legal sales were in late December.
In the meantime, unauthorized pot shops and trucks have sprouted all over the city and state. Officials have been scrambling to crack down on them.