8 Buidelines That Will Shape New York’s Legal Cannabis Industry
New York released its highly anticipated guidelines for weed dispensaries last month, on October 28. The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) finally published its “Guidance for Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries” just weeks ahead of the legal market’s launch, which is expected to take place in December of this year. The guidelines are among the last steps leading up to the rollout of legal cannabis in the state.The new guidance document provides a framework that allows Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries (CAURD) licensees to open up shop while the state formally adopts final rules for its retail market. With day one of legal recreational sales on the horizon, we dug through the 27-page document to highlight eight key laws that will ultimately define the state’s highly-anticipated retail market.Without further ado, here are the eight key guidelines that retail dispensaries must follow when dispensary doors open later this year.
No overnight shops without special clearance
“(Dispensaries) shall not be allowed to operate from 12:00 AM to 8:00 AM, unless given express written permission by such municipality, or the municipality passes a local ordinance, authorizing it to operate beyond such hours.”New York’s adult-use dispensary guideline #5
This regulation forbids licensees from taking payment for orders outside of the licensee’s hours of operation but does not prohibit licensees from taking orders through an online website or app. The rule should ultimately protect cashiers, budtenders, and store owners from potentially violent robberies.But the rule also conflicts with New York’s 24/7, “city-that-never-sleeps” reputation, which itself has shifted as a result of pandemic-related restrictions and changes.Still, research shows that New Yorkers are up later than any other city dwellers. So Gotham’s night owls can rest assured that while dispensaries are closed until 8 am, local dealers and bodegas will still be serving. But what about early risers and immunocompromised users who can’t afford the risk of smoking untested products?The “Attractive to Individuals Under 21” section of the OCM’s retail cannabis guidelines also forbids labeling, packaging, advertising, and marketing that could be pleasing or appealing to persons under the age of 21.New York’s new guidelines forbid cartoons, bubble-type or other cartoon-like fonts, as well as bright colors that are “neon” in appearance, or similarities to products commonly associated with or marketed to “be attractive to individuals under 21,” including imitations of “food, candy, soda, drinks, cookies, or cereal, in labeling, packaging, advertising, or marketing,” according to the OCM.An exception to this rule exists for cultivar, licensee, and business entities. Still, brands like Cookies seem to float comfortably in the gray area.The new Cookies clothing store in Manhattan doesn’t sell adult-use cannabis, yet, only merchandise and CBD. But that hasn’t stopped critics from complaining that the five-story Cookies blue mural painted on the building directly violates this regulation.Others argue that banning symbols, images, characters, toys, and games will do little to stop kids from using cannabis before they turn 21. In fact, studies show that youth in legal states partake in underage cannabis use far less than those in prohibition states. Click here for the resto fo the story!