With cannabis being legalized more and more broadly around the world for recreational and medical use, many cannabis connoisseurs and entrepreneurs are looking to get into the trade. If you’re one of these people living in New York, where cannabis has recently been legalized, you’re probably wondering how to get a license to open a dispensary.

Well, look no further than this article. Read on to find out everything you need to know about getting a New York dispensary license.

Obtaining a New York Dispensary License

This may not be what you want to hear, but applying for and acquiring a dispensary license in New York isn’t easy. It’s certainly not as easy as opening, say, a convenience store, or even a dispensary in a state where cannabis is legal recreationally. New York only allows the sale of marijuana for medical purposes, meaning they’re very strict about the whole process.

New York only allows applications to be submitted at certain times, and the application process hasn’t been opened since 2015 when it was first announced. That doesn’t mean it won’t open again, but patience is going to be needed. That, and some money.

There are some pretty hefty costs that come with opening a dispensary in New York. Currently, there’s a $10,000 fee for the application and a $200,000 registration fee. The latter fee is refunded if the application doesn’t go through.

Don’t let your hopes be dashed by this, though. It’s only a matter of time until the state opens the registration process back up, and if you’ve got the capital to invest you could easily make that money back. Just know that opening a dispensary in New York is no walk in the park.

How Much Competition Is There?

There were 43 applications to open dispensaries submitted in 2015. Each application allowed the owner to open one processing plant and four dispensaries each, with over 30 dispensaries now open across the state. This isn’t a lot compared to other places, but the number is severely limited due to the state’s laws and restrictions surrounding the opening of a dispensary.

The main competition in New York is really New York law itself, and there’s not much you can do but save up and wait for the application process to open back up.

Is There Money in It?

There is definitely money to be made running a dispensary. $35,700,000 were made in cannabis sales in 2016, and an estimated $253,500,000 will be made by the end of 2021. That’s a lot of people using medical cannabis, making it a highly sought after market.

Marijuana Laws in New York

The main reason it’s so difficult to open a dispensary in New York is because the drug is only legal medically. That means that only registered patients can purchase and consume cannabis legally, thus barring the majority of citizens from purchasing medical weed. It also means that the government highly regulates the substance, and they want to make sure it is only being grown and sold by those they deem fit.

The New York law also still bans the smoking of cannabis, with other options being the only legal approach. Vaping, edibles, and tinctures are all on the table, but dispensaries cannot sell any smokable version of weed from the simplest form of bud to the more complex hash and shatter variants.

New York has a long way to go with their marijuana laws. In 2019 there was a vote to legalize marijuana recreationally, but the legislation ultimately didn’t go through. It’s unlikely that this is the end of the battle for New York, but for now, it’s an unfortunate nope on recreational use and smoking.

What About Black Market Dispensaries?

With marijuana becoming legal in more places than ever, people eager to get into the selling game will go to any stretch to sell their product, including illegal dispensaries. Some cities like Toronto, Canada, saw many of these open before weed became legal, and still has them opening regularly now that legalization is underway. New York, however, has not seen a follow in this trend.

It can also not be recommended as a viable option as trying to open a dispensary against the wishes of the law would lead to obvious legal troubles, and probably lose you your chance of ever opening a legal dispensary, even if the application process was to reopen. If you’re thinking of pulling a fast one on the law, think again.