Disabled Military Vets Left Out Of NY Gov. Hochul's Marijuana Licensing Process, Outraged Critics Say

New York Cannabis Control Board (CCC) awarded 99 conditional adult-use retail dispensary licenses earlier this month, after a months-long legal hurdle that prolonged the deal.

CCC chairwoman Tremaine Wright was enthusiastic following the move that brought the total number of cannabis permits statewide to 165.

"This might be one of the happiest meetings we're having all year," she said at the time. "A little bit of joy in this room. This is nice."

The licenses granted included 13 applicants from Brooklyn, Central New York, Western New York and the Mid-Hudson regions. A lab in Rochester also received approval.

According to a local news outlet, four of these licenses were awarded to people with previous cannabis convictions, marking the first time that such licenses were granted statewide.

The New York cannabis regulatory body advanced the so-called Seeding Opportunity Initiative in July by approving the final regulations for Conditional Adult-use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses. The initiative sought for the state's first legal adult-use cannabis shops to be operated by individuals who were most impacted by the enforcement of cannabis prohibition and those who have strong business backgrounds.

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Critics Raise Concerns

Now that the state's recreational market is up and running, some of the state's top officials and lawmakers have raised concerns that the Office of Cannabis Management and the state Cannabis Control Board have given those convicted of drug felonies a priority over disabled military veterans in the process of awarding cannabis dispensary licenses, reported New York Post.

Carmine Fiore, chair of the Cannabis Association of New York's Veterans Committee and a disabled Army vet, voiced against Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration.

"The whole veterans community is in an uproar," Fiore said. "Only criminal applicants have been allowed to apply."

Councilman Robert Holden, chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, seconded Fiore.

"It's absolutely disgusting. It's mind-boggling," he said. "The state rewards people who broke the law. What about veterans who served our country and those who don't break the law?"

Some top state lawmakers like Sen. George Borrello (R-Jamestown) are also outraged with the rollout of the new market.

"The idea of giving ex-cons a license to sell pot, along with a free dispensary courtesy of the taxpayers, shows their deranged priorities and their continued failure to roll out a legal market in New York," he said.

OCM Firm In Its Stance

To that, the state Office of Cannabis Management said it didn't ignore veterans who wanted to join the state's recreational cannabis market.

Aaron Ghitelman, a spokesman for the regulatory body, said it reached out to veterans and veterans groups, "including meeting with the Cannabis Association of New York's Veterans Committee, with Black Veterans for Social Justice, hosting a roundtable at the Veterans in Economic Transition Conference, hosting listening sessions across New York and numerous one-on-one conversations with veterans and advocates."

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