Search and verify licenses
  1. Home
  2. New York License Lookup
  3. New York Cannabis and Marijuana License
New York Cannabis and Marijuana License

New York Cannabis and Marijuana License

In some states of the USA cannabis and marijuana are fully illegal. Still, in other states, their use is legal. This article will discuss cannabis use in New York.

The use of cannabis in New York is legal for adults. The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act legalized marijuana use for adults over 21. New York State has legalized recreational marijuana quite recently (March 31, 2021). Anyway, it will take months for the residents of New York to get weed legally.

Marijuana Use in New York

The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) monitors the field. Special cannabis licenses will get:

  • cultivators
  • distributors
  • processors
  • dispensaries

This way, the state tries to protect its residents. So, without licenses, cannabis growth and selling are illegal in the state.

According to NY regulation, adults can own cannabis flower and concentrated cannabis:

  • Cannabis flower up to 3 ounces
  • Concentrated cannabis, less than 24 grams

To buy weed, one should have a valid ID.

Though cannabis use is legal in the state, it is still possible only in private areas. In all the public places where you cannot smoke tobacco, you cannot use weed as well.

In New York, it is illegal to drive a car if you have just taken weed or similar products.

Marijuana licenses

Are you interested in cannabis licensing? If yes, the information below is important for you.

There are essential points and conditions you should know before applying for the licenses.

  • Firstly, New York has released cannabis licenses quite recently (March 2021). Thus, there are too many license types, procedures, and rules starting at the same time.
  • Secondly, the New York residents, who want to apply for licenses, should take their time and carefully examine all the steps for getting licenses.

Some points to consider before applying

  1. You need separate licenses to process, grow, distribute, and retail dispense cannabis in the state.
  2. After you pay the application fee, you may not get refunded later. Anyway, this point is a matter of discussion. The Board will later make a final decision.
  3. If the cannabis amount is large, you may need to pay a biennial license fee.

The Board receives and carefully examines all the data the applicants submit.

Applications for New York marijuana licenses

So, who can apply for New York marijuana licenses?

Only those who are 21 years of age and older can apply for the licenses. During the application the following information is essential:

  • Identity information (also, racial and ethnic diversity)
  • Fingerprints
  • Proof of good moral conduct
  • Details about current investments and ownership
  • Financial statement

Applicants get the licenses for two years. So, after it expires, the New York marijuana licenses should be renewed.
The licensing policy is new in New York. This means, there are subject to changes.

Note, that:

  1. First, all the applicants should have a legal agreement with legal labor companies.
  2. Second, all the applicants should notify the local government about their steps. Later, the Board will consider the opinions of the local government.

Marijuana and cannabis license types

There are different New York cannabis license types. It is important to know the differences between the licenses.

Adult-Use Cultivator License

This type of license will enable you to grow, own, sell and distribute cannabis.

The license also allows cannabis growing, planting, harvesting, and drying.

Adult-Use Cultivator License may apply for a single processor license only. This license can also include:

  • A retail dispensary license

Besides,  the license gives the applicants a chance to get

  • A distribution license

Adult-Use Distributor License

The license enables the possession, sale, and distribution of cannabis from license adult-use cultivators and small businesses. It allows

  • A retail dispensary license

Adult-Use Processor License

With this license, the applicants can legally get, possess, and sell cannabis from licensed premises to licensed distributors.

At the same time, the license allows to extract, blend, label, and package cannabis.

Adult-Use Retail Dispensary License

The Board gives this type of license to permit the possession, delivery, and sale of cannabis.

There are a number of conditions to meet to get the Adult-Use Retail Dispensary License.

The location of the retail store is also essential. Thus, the store should be

  • Located within a 500 feet distance from schools (educational centers in general)
  • Not less than 200 feet away from houses of worship

Microbusiness License

The license gives an opportunity to cultivate, process, dispense and distribute the business’s own product. Thus, the license limits the distribution of cannabis to the business’s own products only.

Nursery License

Do you want to produce, sale and distribute clones, seeds, immature plants, and other products? If yes, then you should obtain a Nursery license.

The individuals or entities that have a cultivator’s license may also hold a nursery license. Hence, they will sell their product directly to other microbusinesses, cultivators, etc.

Small Business Adult-Use Cooperative License

Individuals or entities holding this license will have the right to grow, get, possess, as well as distribute the product to

  • Other licensed distributors
  • Legal retail dispensaries

This means it should be a legal business structure. So, the members and staff of this structure should be New York residents. Later, the Board will approve and then issue the license to the structure.

Registered Organization Licenses

The terms and conditions for registered companies are the same as for adult-use cultivators or adult-use processors. Anyway, this license enables such registered companies to cultivate, process, and distribute weed only to the company’s adult-use dispensaries.

Registered companies should maintain a medical license and use weed only for medical purposes.

Adult-Use On-Site Consumption License

At last, the applicants for this license type should be able to show complete control of the premises for not less than two years. Besides, these applicants cannot hold other licenses. They cannot get an adult-use retail dispensary or cultivation license.

The same rule of the location of the premises applies here. They should be:

  • At least 500 feet far from schools or other educational centers
  • At least 200 feet far from a house of worship

Medical marijuana

On March 31, 2021, the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA) was signed in New York State.

This means, that adult-use weed is legal in the state. The MRTA has already created a vast number of provisions and rules. This is important to control the field properly. But, there is still a lot to do to control marijuana operations in New York.

What is more, the Board aims to expand the medical marijuana program in the state. But, for now, all the earlier programs and rules on the field remain the same.

At the moment, the state has eased its control on medical marijuana.

Thus, today the patients can

  • Grow marijuana at home
  • Smoke it
  • Use it for curing purposes

So, patients that use a fortune on weed will be able to grow it at home. In Florida, for instance, patients can grow weed at home for their own use. Doctors think this is really a wise step.

Medical marijuana program

The medical marijuana program first started in 2016. Then, only five companies got medical licenses to grow marijuana. In years, this number has increased to ten.

Before, patients could only take marijuana pills and liquids. Even patients with serious health conditions could not smoke weed.

What is more, medical marijuana was only for patients with diseases like:

  • HIV/AIDS
  • Cancer
  • Lou Gehrig’s disease

The medicine, though, has long proved that inhaling weed is the fastest way to ease the pain.

Conditions and diseases for medical marijuana

In the past, the list of the diseases to get medical marijuana was limited. However, at present, this list is wider.

In New York State, patients with these conditions can get medical marijuana:

  •  Cancer
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Lou Gehrig’s disease
  • Chronic pain
  • Post-traumatic stress
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  •  Muscular dystrophy
  • Autism
  • Arthritis

How to get and renew a medical marijuana card?

To get a medical card, the patient should consult a doctor. To buy medical marijuana, the residents of New York State need a certificate. In order to get it, the patients must undergo a full medical check-up. In case there are any qualified medical conditions, the doctor will give the patient a medical card.

So, for a medical marijuana card, the patients should meet the demands below:

  • Be 18 years old
  • Valid New York ID
  • Must have a medical condition qualified for medical marijuana

The medical marijuana card renewal is really easy. The patient can

  • See a doctor
  • Undergo a telemedicine evaluation

Moreover, for the medical card renewal, the conditions are still the same, as for getting a medical marijuana card.

Zara N

Zara N

Zara is a content writer and a psychologist. She loves both of her professions with passion. The spheres she has chosen seem totally different. Anyway, she has so far succeeded in combining and linking them. Zara works as a family psychologist daytime and in the evenings she immerses in writing. Besides working as a content writer, she has managed to write her own books. She is an author of a psychological book for parents called “Some issues on upbringing”. She also writes therapeutic stories for children. Right now Zara is writing (or trying to write) her first psychological novel.

Table of contents

License Lookup © Copyright 2023. All rights reserved.

DISCLAIMER: LicenseLookup.org is not a "consumer reporting agency" per FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This website does not provide "consumer reports" under the FCRA. LicenseLookup.org unambiguously prohibits the user of search results and information contained within (1) to discriminate against any consumer, (2) for the purposes of decision making on consumer’s eligibility for insurance or personal credit, housing, employment, or a government license or benefit; or (3) otherwise to impact a consumer’s financial or economic status or standing.

Information obtained on our website is not verified and/or may not be up to date, even though we do our best to keep it fresh. We do not guarantee, verify or create this information. Availability and/or accuracy of this information depends on the public sources that our platform utilizes. By using our services you agree to our FCRA disclaimer, terms or service and privacy policy. You may not use our services or information contained within for an unlawful purposes (stalking, harassing, investigating public officials or celebrities, etc.). Violators may be subject to criminal and civil litigation and penalties.