New York's first 100 to 200 retail cannabis licenses will be solely for people with marijuana-related convictions or their immediate family, state officials said Wednesday, in an effort to redress the inequities of a system that has locked up people of color for marijuana offenses at disproportionate rates.
Some licenses will go to nonprofits or businesses who have a leader linked to a marijuana conviction, and priority also will be given to individuals with “a parent, legal guardian, child, spouse or dependent” convicted of a marijuana-related offense, said state Office of Cannabis Management spokesperson Freeman Klopott.
