Another lawsuit against New York State has halted the rollout of marijuana dispensary licenses, putting licensed local farmers who invested in the crop in the position of not being to sell their harvest for a second consecutive year.
The Cannabis Farmers Alliance, formed this past May with Newfane farmer Jeanette Miller at its head, said it will not allow the state to delay the harvest any longer. If the state does not fix the problems with the rollout, Miller said, the alliance may also sue.
Since the 2021 passage of the state Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), which legalized recreational marijuana use and created the Office of Cannabis Management to regulate growers and sellers, the state has been sued at least three times over terms of the law.
In the fall of 2022, Variscite NY One, a company owned by a Michigan resident, sued over the dispensary licensing process, claiming the law favors New York residents over out-of-state residents in violation of constitutional interstate commerce protections. The New York licensing program was blocked until this past March while the case was hashed out. Ninety-nine dispensaries were green-lighted across the state within days of the injunction being lifted, and the state settled with Variscite NY One by granting it a retail license.
Also in March, a group of medical marijuana registered organizations (ROs) sued because they were not allowed to apply for dispensary licenses at the outset of the process.
Small farmers watched as the state did everything to “pacify” the big growers, meaning the ROs, Miller said. After a proposed amendment to the state law, allowing the ROs to bid for retail licenses now versus later, failed in the legislature, the Office of Cannabis Management tweaked its regulations to let in the ROs sooner, for a price — $20 million over 10 years, $5 million of that upfront, per applicant.
A state courts database search showed that as of Aug. 15, the ROs’ suit was still active.
Now, a group of veterans are suing the state, over Office of Cannabis Management-written rules that allowed people with drug convictions to open the first dispensaries. The law identified numerous “minority” groups — including women, people of color, distressed farmers, formerly incarcerated persons, and disabled veterans — who should get first crack at dispensary licenses.
A state Supreme Court justice last week issued an injunction blocking the state from processing or issuing any more dispensary licenses until that suit is settled.
That leaves marijuana growers including Miller in the lurch again.
“Instead of going lawsuit to lawsuit, the problems with the act should be fixed,” she said. “It’s unconstitutional for the OCM to go against the law as written.”
Cannabis Farmers Alliance member Tom Szulist, the operator of Appleton-based Singer Farm Naturals, has been turning over his harvested marijuana to processors that extract the THC, the ingredient in marijuana edibles and other products that Szulist makes. The processors keep most of the harvest, he said.
Szulist agrees the state’s legalization effort has created a hardship for small growers, but he’s trying to just roll with it.
“I know we have no control over that stuff. We live in the moment. Trying to figure it out is like trying to figure out life,” he said.
Miller, who has a temporary growing license, this week planted a small crop, enough to remain in compliance with license terms so she can get permanent license next year. Meanwhile, she has not been able to sell her harvested crop and says the processors are backed up. She’s also not willing, yet, to give away her hard work in exchange for a percentage of its worth.
So, the growers’ group that she’s leading will keep watching the state and the lawsuits, and try to fight for their place at the table.