According to industry polls, a vast majority of legal cannabis store owners and licensees are opposed to relaxing buffer zones that prohibit cannabis stores from being located within 1,000 feet of each other.
A survey conducted by the 300-member New York Cannabis Retailers Association found that 94% of respondents opposed changes to the “proximity protection” rules.
The State Cannabis Control Board is considering giving municipalities with populations of 20,000 or more exemptions to the 1,000-foot rule and towns with smaller populations an exemption to the 2,000-foot buffer rule.
“The numbers speak for themselves. Our market is far too vulnerable to change the proximity protection rules,” said Jason Tantaro, vice president of operations for the Retail Cannabis Association.
“Why now? The market is still in its early stages and there are still a huge number of illegal stores. This should send a message to state regulators,” he said of the poll.
Tantaro said he and his wife, Britni, have spent tens of thousands of dollars on rent while they wait for approval to open Flower City Dispensary, a marijuana dispensary in Victor, a Rochester suburb.
Tantaro said he’s heard cannabis regulators want to relax the buffer zone from 1,000 feet to 750 feet, and from 2,000 feet to 1,750 feet in smaller towns.
“Our members do not want change. Change brings instability to the market. There should be no exceptions,” he said.
In analyzing the survey results, “NYCRA members strongly support the existing standards for considering proximity protection exemptions.”
“When making changes to existing regulations, NYCRA members want additional regulatory guardrails in place to ensure such exemptions don’t make businesses financially unsustainable.”
Many New York City lawmakers also oppose any deviation from distancing rules, arguing there are still too many illegal marijuana dispensaries and they don’t want even legal ones to flood their neighborhoods.
“They must be high,” Queens City Councilman Robert Holden recently told The Post, half-jokingly, referring to plans the U.S. Marijuana Regulatory Commission might make to allow a proliferation of marijuana dispensaries.
Some licensed operators have threatened to sue the state if it relaxes distancing requirements.
The dispute comes at the same time that a judge recently allowed a number of unlicensed marijuana stores to reopen after the city’s marijuana enforcement officers padlocked the stores without following proper procedures.
Gov. Kathy Hawkle approved tougher laws earlier this year making it easier for authorities to close illegal stores and pave the way for legal operators, while Mayor Eric Adams launched “Operation Padlock for Protection” to weed out unlicensed marijuana dealers.
There are currently 164 licensed cannabis dispensaries in New York state, about half of which are located in New York City and Long Island, in addition to a number of illegal dispensaries.
