New York state’s Office of Cannabis Management opened a 60-day application window for cultivation, processing, distribution, retail and micro licenses, Green Market Report and Spectrum News reported. The window will be open until Wednesday, Dec. 4.

Previously, conditional adult-use recreational dispensary (CUARD) licenses were restricted to a finite number by region and to businesses owned by individuals with marijuana-related convictions or nonprofits that serve currently or formerly incarcerated individuals.

The new policy will allow approximately 1,000 general retail dispensary licenses to be made available this year. The dispensaries will not be restricted by region.

Applicants should now apply for an adult-use retail dispensary license rather than a conditional-use license.  That's because of pending litigation over the issuance of new CUARD licenses, which challenges the program's licensing priorities, according to Green Market Report. The adult-use retail dispensary license may allow for some limited consumption on-site.

In a list of frequently asked questions, the OCM provided the following breakdown for the approximate number of licenses available throughout the state:

● Retail dispensaries: 500 to 1,000
● Microbusinesses: 220
● Cultivation: 40
● Processors: 155
● Distributors: 30

NY Cannabis has published a running list of lawsuits filed against the state’s cannabis regulators (subscription required).