Interested in pursuing a cannabis license in New York? Under the guidance of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has outlined these 11 license types that you can pursue:
- CULTIVATOR
This license type includes growing, cloning, harvesting, drying, curing, grading, and trimming cannabis plants. This license authorizes you to acquire, possess, distribute, cultivate, and sell cannabis to a processor.
Limitations
You may not own more than 1 cultivator license; you may not own a retail license. You may own one processor license + one distributor license (solely for the distribution of your own products).
- NURSERY
This license allows you to produce only clones, immature plants, seeds, and other agricultural products used specifically for the planting, propagation, and cultivation of cannabis. With this license, you will be permitted to produce, sell, and distribute these clones, immature plants, seeds, and other agricultural products to cultivators, co-ops, microbusinesses, or registered organizations.
Limitations
You may not hold more than 1 nursery license.
- PROCESSOR
Under this license, you may extract concentrated cannabis and/or compounds, blends, extracts, infuses, or otherwise manufacture concentrated cannabis or cannabis products. You will be permitted to acquire, possess, process, and sell cannabis from cultivators to distributors.
Limitations
You may not own more than 1 processor license and may not have any interest in a retailer. You may obtain a distributor license (solely for the distribution of your own products).
- DISTRIBUTOR
With this license, you can acquire, possess, distribute, and wholesale any cannabis product from a processor, co-op, microbusiness, or registered organization to retail dispensaries, on-site consumption, or delivery.
Limitations
You may not hold more than 1 distributor license and may not hold any interest in a retailer.
- COOPERATIVE
These licenses are unique in that they must be organized under cooperative principals, including, but not limited to, being democratically controlled by the members themselves, on the basis of one vote per member. A co-op license authorizes the acquisition, possession, cultivation, processing, and sale to distributors, on-site consumption sites, registered organizations, and/or retail dispensaries.
Limitations
You may not own more than one cooperative license. You may not have any interest in a retailer.
- MICROBUSINESS
This license allows you to act as a producer for the cultivation of cannabis, a processor, distributor, and a retailer. Although vertically integrated, you will be limited in the amounts you can cultivate, process, distribute, delivery and sell.
Limitations
You may not own more than one microbusiness license. You may not have any interest in or own any other license.
- RETAIL DISPENSARY
With this license, you can sell any cannabis product at retail to consumers. You can acquire, possess, sell, and deliver cannabis to consumers.
Limitations
You may own up to 3 retail licenses. You may not own or have any interest in a cultivation, processing, or distribution license.
- ON-SITE CONSUMPTION
Under this license, you are authorized to acquire, possess, and sell cannabis to consumers for use at the on-site consumption location.
Limitations
You may own up to 3 on-site consumption licenses. You may not own or have any interest in cultivation, processor, or distribution licenses.
- DELIVERY
Here, you can deliver cannabis and cannabis products to consumers. However, you may not have a total of more than 25 individuals providing full-time equivalent paid delivery services to cannabis consumers per week under a single license.
Limitations
You may not have more than one delivery license. You may not have any interest in or own another license type.
- REGISTERED ORGANIZATION: CULTIVATOR, PROCESSOR,
DISTRIBUTOR, RETAIL DISPENSARY
With this license, you will be authorized to have the same privileges and conditions as a cultivator, processor, distributor, and retail dispensary license. The location of these organizations will be limited to 3 of the organization’s medical dispensaries and only authorizes the distribution of the registered organization’s own products. The New York’s Cannabis Control Board is still determining the timing and manner of the registered organization’s participation in the adult-use market.
Limitations
You may not have any interest in an or own any other license type.
- REGISTERED ORGANIZATION: CULTIVATOR, PROCESSOR,
DISTRIBUTOR
With this license, you will be authorized to have the same privileges of a cultivator, processor, and distributor (not retailer, as is permitted in #10, above). The timing and manner of these organizations’ participation in the adult-use market will be determined by New York’s Cannabis Control Board.
Limitations
You may not have any interest in an or own any other license type.
New York’s rules for cannabis change frequently. Check back with us to stay updated on these ever-changing rules. CONTACT US at Canna Business Services for a free 15-minute consultation to learn more about how you can participate in the New York adult-use cannabis industry!
