New York Cannabis Retail Licenses

(Updated January 4th, 2024)

The application window for NY Cannabis Dispensaries opened October 4th 2023 and closed on December 18th, but future opportunities are expected, once the current applications are processed. 

New York’s cannabis industry is probably easiest to break into for retail dispensary applicants in comparison to the other license types. Dispensaries are really just retail stores with higher security and compliance requirements. Any adult with good business skills and enough investment capital should be able to assume ownership of one of the upcoming cannabis dispensaries and do just fine if they submit a good application, have a good location and stay in contact with the Cannabis Control Board and Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) to ensure full compliance with state guidelines and laws.

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Or, if you are interested in a different license type, choose among these (more will be added in the coming months): 

Cannabis Cultivation License

Microbusiness License

Cannabis Dispensary Licensing – Getting Started

1. Know the laws issued by the Cannabis Control Board, the OCM and your local municipalities. The MRTA (adult-use) law is here, and the regulations are here, but we can’t keep track of the rules for cannabis dispensaries in each local municipality. We know regulatory text is tedious to interpret, but the marijuana dispensary applicants who learn it first and learn it best will have an advantage over everyone else. If you know all of the rules and limitations of your license type, you will much more easily navigate the process.
2. Reach out to New York Cannabis Consultants (like us) and talk shop. You will always learn something from each adult you talk to who is also trying to break into or serve the cannabis business in the state. 
3. Gain access to the application materials as soon as they come available. You can set Google news alerts for New York Dispensary Licensing. 
4. Start searching for suitable properties. (see more on this below). The location can make you or break you, and the sooner you find it, the cheaper it will be. 
5. Establish a Board and/or find an investor who will help you handle capital costs, and start working on a contract with these individuals. (Contracts can take months, and it’s very common for negotiations to break down due to misunderstandings or disagreements about control and ownership percentages.)
6. Start putting your business plan together. Our company doesn’t specialize in business plans, but we are experts in day-to-day dispensary operations, procedures, and compliance requirements. We offer Business Continuity Plans and Community Impact Plans, which are necessary for the application submission. 
7. Be aware of the application submission date and everything you need to submit, so you can be among the first to apply for a cannabis dispensary license, both locally and at the state level.  

 

How to Get a Recreational Dispensary License in New York

A dispensary license in New York’s adult market should not be difficult for New Yorkers to obtain if you have the major factors handled: A locally approved, properly qualified location (hopefully with good foot and car traffic), a few hundred thousand dollars for build-out/inventory/equipment/supplies/staff, and a solid set of application documents for an adult-use cannabis license. We recommend that you start by finding a location because putting this off can really run up the cost, as properly zoned suitable locations can become highly competitive (thus running up the price) for retail dispensary applicants. After the round of equity of licenses are granted, the state will not be imposing license number limits, but local jurisdictions probably still will, because they can’t let every open retail location become a cannabis business. The local jurisdictions that have opted in to hosting cannabis retail dispensaries could simply define the zoning, and let the competition work itself out, or they may define their own criteria by which a cannabis retail dispensary can be approved. 

Local jurisdictions have the option of banning cannabis dispensary licenses in New York, and even if they don’t, they probably have limits on zoning and local approvals. This is why it’s important to maintain contact with the jurisdictions where you want to apply and be aware of when they make zoning and application announcements for when the application process will open. It’s the local level where networking and lobbying can really make a difference in nabbing a competitive adult-use retail dispensary license. 

One exception to the challenge of obtaining local approval to operate a cannabis dispensary is in municipalities that need tax money and want to attract more business. These are typically the less wealthy, more remote counties in the state. These counties see the NY adult cannabis market as an opportunity for a financial boon for their budgets. They will allow more dispensary licenses, but there might not be enough business for any one of those licensed adult-use dispensaries to make much money. You’ll need north of 75 transactions per day to really come away with a decent profit, month-to-month. 

The current application window allow for dispensary and microbusiness applicants to apply provisionally, which means they do not require site control at the time of applying, but they will need to obtain it (in the form of an executed lease or a deed of ownership) before they can become operational. 

Application for Dispensary Licenses in NY State

Your New York dispensary application must show that your business meets the criteria for effectively operating a adult-use retail dispensary in the state. This will include proof of control over an adequate location, a relatively clean criminal background, plus a lot of additional items we can help you with.  

For this current licensing period, the only plans that are required are a Business Continuity Plan and a Community Impact Plan. We can help you with those, as well as walk you through the application for a flat rate of $2000.  

New York Dispensary License Cost 2023

As we’ve mentioned on other pages on our site, the cost of obtaining a New York Dispensary License is not the budget-breaker to worry about. The cost for an annual dispensary license will be $7000, plus a $1000 non-refundable application fee. What will cost the most is the cost of securing and building out a good location for operating a cannabis retail dispensary. That cost will be followed by quite a few other costs that are necessary to get you off the ground, such as inventory and staffing. 

Retail Dispensary Budget

One of the experts on our team has operated multiple cannabis dispensaries in California. He created this sample dispensary budget to help our customers (and website visitors) make solid plans for financing. 

This pro forma budget forecasts income and expenses for Years 1-3 for adult-use retail dispensary in New York, not including capital expenses. The estimates are based on assumptions and consultation with cannabis business professionals. Actual income and expenses could vary quite a lot depending on size and location. 

 

What the above dispensary budget shows is that, if you can get to 60 or more transactions per day, you can make a good living operating a cannabis dispensary in New York. Capital expenses for an average adult-use retail dispensary can be covered with about $250,000, assuming the building is in good shape and has good infrastructure. Of course, if your location is in the middle of New York City, you could be doing 300 transactions per day and making a lot more money. That’s why it’s hard to do budgeting that applies to everyone; each situation is so different, but for retailers, nothing is more important than location. 

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If I Open a Dispensary, Can I Also Have a Cannabis Processor License or Distribution License?

The OCM has specific rules about owning or having a stake in multiple adult-use cannabis licenses in the state of New York. For marijuana dispensaries, license holders, according to the laws (MRTA and subsequent regulations), are authorized to acquire, possess, sell and deliver marijuana to consumers. Approved license holders cannot have a direct or indirect financial interest in more than 3 cannabis dispensary licenses. The OCM has some specific rules about control, ownership and location of the licensed premises that are more demanding than the other license types. For example, the license type requires retail zoning, 500ft minimum distance from school grounds (property line to property line), and a street-level entrance. A retail dispensary will not require any kind of medical card from customers to meet compliance requirements, unless they are registered patients seeking medical marijuana. Only some retail dispensaries will specifically cater to medical marijuana patients. 

Do NY Laws Allow Any Adult to Purchase Marijuana at a Dispensary?

Adults over the age of 21 (and minors with medical cards) will be allowed to purchase medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation from any cannabis dispensary that caters to medical marijuana patients. Adults over the age of 21 with no medical conditions can purchase marijuana from licensed dispensaries, presuming those dispensaries want to serve them. Of course, as an owner of a cannabis license, just like with any other privately owned business, you can choose not to serve any adult who does not live up to your code of conduct for patrons of your business. Some dispensaries might choose to focus on medical marijuana if they prefer to serve patients with serious health conditions. 

 

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