Court order: Weed shops continue near New York schools

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — A New York court ordered state cannabis regulators to temporarily stop enforcing a stricter interpretation of a rule on how close marijuana dispensaries can be to schools. The ruling lets 152 licensed cannabis businesses and applicants keep using the older “door-to-door” measurement standard until February 15.

The ruling means the Office of Cannabis Management and the state can carry on with a status quo dating back to 2022. The door-to-door standard requires dispensaries to be at least 500 feet away from the nearest entrance to any school located on the same road. They measure to the center of the nearest entrance regularly used by customers, excluding fire and emergency exits, maintenance access, or doors to parts of the building that aren’t public.

If the entrance is set back from the sidewalk, they measure from the center of a line drawn to where the walkway or doorway meets the sidewalk. If the building is multi-story, they use the street-level entrance.

In June, OCM realized the door-to-door standard allowed dispensaries too close to schools. But following the stricter, more accurate reading of the state’s weed laws—which actual require measuring from the nearest school property line, not the closest entrance to its closest building—would have forced some businesses to move.

The Albany County Supreme Court handed down the decision from Acting Justice Keri Savona on September 25. It granted a preliminary injunction in the case of “Conbud et. al. v. New York State Cannabis Control board et. al,” brought by multiple cannabis businesses whose entrances were located within 500 feet from school grounds.

The ruling applies to:

• Applications to renew current licenses that expire by February 15
• Other applications made by an existing licensee, provisional licensee, or other applicant for a retail dispensary license submitted by February 15

Lawmakers are back in session in January, so they can start working on legislation to address the problem ahead of that deadline. They would be amending the language of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, either to enshrine the door-to-door standard or to waive the requirement for the affected businesses.

OCM is also pausing its Applicant Relief Program, designed to cover costs if any of the 108 licensees and 44 applicants affected had to move or faced other expenses because they were too close to a school.

OCM Acting Executive Director Felicia Reid said the agency “welcomes this order because it gives cannabis entrepreneurs and communities the stability they need.”

And the ruling “recognizes the investments made by New York cannabis businesses and ensures they can keep building in the communities most harmed by prohibition,” said OCM’s Chief Equity Officer, Simone Washington. She said the OCM will keep working with affected applicants and licensees as the agency pursues a “permanent fix with our legislative partners.”