Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

For people affected by the war on drugs and those in the “Legacy Cannabis Market,” entering the legal marijuana market has been nearly impossible. Between license requirements, the large expense of opening a dispensary and the need for prior paperwork that, to some, never existed, the state is shutting out people they claimed to prioritize.

Now that license applications are open to the general public and the state has been cracking down on the unlicensed storefront sale of marijuana in the “gray market,” there is concern that companies with more capital will dominate the market.

Starting in the 1970s, the war on drugs enforced harsh legal penalties for the sale, distribution and possession of cannabis. In 1971, former president Richard Nixon deemed drug use as “public enemy number one.” Marijuana was categorized as a schedule one drug, the strictest substance classification.

Despite the prevalence of drug use among all demographics, police disproportionately targeted Black, Latinx and low-income communities. A rise in mass incarceration and systemic violence that hinders affected citizens’ access to opportunities and vital resources followed. In 2020, 94 percent of marijuana arrests in New York state were of Black or Latinx people.

The communities who’ve had numerous opportunities taken from them because of marijuana prohibition should be the ones to profit most from legalization.

When New York state legalized cannabis, equity was the focus of the new industry. In Aug. 2022, the Office of Cannabis Management began accepting applications for the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary Licenses which reserved the initial batch of dispensary licenses for those directly impacted by the war on drugs.

Originally, CAURD license applicants needed two years of experience running a successful business, proven through tax returns — a demanding requirement given the systemic barriers that come with a criminal record.

Cindy Zhang | Digital Design Director

The “Legacy Cannabis Market” consists of people who’ve sold marijuana long before the state even considered legalization. CAURD requirements alienate legacy sellers who don’t have the tax returns to prove they’ve run a successful business selling marijuana. Legacy sellers should be able to legally enter an industry they’ve pioneered.

Those qualified for a license still need the resources, connections and knowledge to navigate legal distribution with its high taxes, complicated process and fees.

The CAURD program offered low-interest loans through a $200 million public-private fund that promised to help applicants find locations and equip them with infrastructure. But lawsuits and issues obtaining funds left the majority of over 400 applicants granted a license in limbo. Only 23 dispensaries in New York state have been able to open shop.

With the system’s difficulties, many people unable to open up shop legally joined the thousands of storefronts in the “gray market” across New York selling cannabis without a license.

Groovy is a pioneer in the “gray market” as the creator and owner of New York City’s first Black-owned online dispensaries, DopeHouse Dispensary and #PowerFlowers.

“In New York, if you have the money you are going to win. No one cares about the guy with no money,” Groovy said. “That’s why it’s called the Empire State. If you have the money, you can build your empire.”

There has been a lot of criticism of New York legislators for their slow and unorganized roll out of the legal industry. One of Groovy’s biggest issues with the industry was the initial intention of legislators who likely don’t have marijuana experience creating marijuana policy.

“How are you going to know this will work if you don’t smoke? You’re not in the culture,” Groovy said.

In June, New York began cracking down on stores illicitly selling cannabis, likely an attempt to establish the legal market and curb safety concerns of unregulated marijuana. Over $40 million worth of product has been confiscated and many businesses have been shut down. In July, Syracuse shut down 13 of these businesses and another five last month by declaring them “unfit for human occupancy.”

T’s Wireless, a Syracuse store shut down last month, recently filed a lawsuit claiming the city had no legal right to close their business. They claim they had a valid state license to sell CBD products and denied selling marijuana products. Armed officers raided the store without a warrant and seized about $19,400 worth of property.

New York University Professor Terrance Coffie is the co-founder and executive director of the Cannabis Justice Equity Initiative. The organization helps expunge cannabis-related criminal convictions and provides a training program to help individuals from communities disproportionately affected by the war on drugs enter the industry. The cannabis industry is projected to create more than 63,000 jobs by 2025.

“There ought to be a transition program from gray market to legal market that provides support to these communities. One of my fears is that I don’t want us to go back, reinventing America’s war on drugs while trying to establish a legal market,” Coffie said.

Coffie said embracing the “gray market” would empower communities impacted by the war on drugs while adding to the state revenue.

On Oct. 4, the Office of Cannabis Management opened license applications to the general public and expects to distribute 1,000-1,500 new licenses. Many are concerned multi-state operators will now dominate the market, undermining the initial intention of equity.

“That’s not something isolated to New York. The reason we know about it is because that practice has already happened in other areas,” said Coffie. “That’s just capitalism.”

Coffie said many of the cannabis industry’s problems are growing pains, but that OMC should consult community members on how to best approach equitability.

“Our responsibility is to ensure that we are holding our Office of Cannabis Management to social equity programs and organizations accountable,” said Coffie. “A moral responsibility to this community.”

New York state needs to actively consult community members to develop intentional policy. It’s important to create accessible avenues for legacy sellers in the “gray market” to transition into the legal industry.

Since the state wants to profit off the cannabis market, it needs to address its past by continuously prioritizing the people who’ve been most harmed by prohibition instead of allowing the wealthy and powerful to dominate another industry.

Brian Joseph Cohen is a junior Magazine, News and Digital Journalism major with a Sociology minor. His column appears bi-weekly. He can be reached at bcohen10@syr.edu.

Published on October 30, 2023 at 1:13 am