SEINFELD’S PARALLEL UNIVERSE –

March 9, 2022 – The policy, to be announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday, is part of a concerted push to assure that early business owners in the state’s projected billion-dollar marijuana industry will be members of communities that have been affected by the nation’s decades-long war on drugs.

In favoring those with marijuana convictions and prepping their businesses for turnkey sales, New York appears to be trying to avoid pitfalls encountered in some other states, which have seen designated “social equity” applicants and other mom-and-pop marijuana businesses struggle with issues like lack of capital or competition from deep-pocketed corporate operations. Chris Alexander, the executive director of the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, said that by focusing early on “those who otherwise would have been left behind,” New York was in a “position to do something that has not been done before.”

To that end, Ms. Hochul has proposed — and the Legislature seems likely to pass — including $200 million in this year’s budget to support the fledging businesses, money that would be spent on finding, securing and renovating storefronts for retailers. That need for state assistance is particularly acute in New York City, where real estate prices have rebounded as the worst of the Covid pandemic has receded.

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