New York judge blocks retail marijuana licensing, a major blow to state’s fledgling program

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE
Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A New York judge has blocked the state’s retail marijuana program from issuing or processing dispensary licenses. The ruling on Friday came after a group of veterans sued over rules that allowed people with drug convictions to open the first dispensaries. The decision represents perhaps a severe setback for the state’s legal marijuana industry, which has been defined by a slow licensing rollout, a glut of excess marijuana crops and legal challenges that have allowed an illicit market to boom. The veterans’ lawsuit argues that state marijuana regulators improperly limited the initial round of licenses to people with prior marijuana convictions, rather than a wider group of so-called social equity applicants included in the original law.