Up to 20 pot dispensaries bound for LI

Up to 20 cannabis dispensaries could open on Long Island during the first round of retail licensing. 

The state released regional caps Wednesday while outlining how applications for up to 150 "conditional" or temporary licenses will be evaluated.

Regulators will authorize a maximum of 20 business-run dispensaries on Long Island. These credentials will be reserved for successful business owners who have a marijuana-related conviction or are related to someone with one.

Nationally, law enforcement officers arrested Black and Latino people for marijuana offenses at higher rates than white people, despite these groups using the substance at similar rates. When legalizing marijuana, state lawmakers took steps to prevent people with marijuana records from being undercut by larger businesses and to prioritize communities of color, where lawmakers said enforcement was focused.

The region could see additional dispensaries run by vocational nonprofits. The state Office of Cannabis Management, which crafts and implements marijuana policy, noted 13 or 14 conditional licenses may be granted to organizations outside of New York City that provide training to incarcerated people. 

Finding 20 locations for dispensaries on Long Island may be a feat, according to Long Islanders looking to get involved in the cannabis industry. Just four towns will allow dispensaries and consumption lounges: Babylon, Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton. Some localities within these towns have opted not to permit these establishments. And zoning will present hurdles, according to Osbert Orduña, who is seeking a conditional license to open a dispensary on Long Island with two partners.

"[Twenty] is a welcome hope, but at the same time, it's a bit confusing," said Orduña, a Suffolk resident who is on the executive board of the tristate chapter of the National Hispanic Cannabis Council trade organization. "Where are these going to go?" 

Some Long Island municipalities may reverse course and allow dispensaries now that there's more clarity on how the state will handle legalization, according to David Falkowksi, a Long Islander involved with the Cannabis Association of New York trade group. To give people penalized by the prohibition of marijuana a leg up, the state launched a $200 million fund that will provide real estate and other assistance to conditional licensees. The state's construction financing team, the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, will identify dispensary locations for these retailers. 

"The position that many of these municipalities took was: We have no idea what this is; we have no regulations from the state," said Falkowski, who is co-chair of the trade group's policy committee. "Now we're in a very different situation."

DASNY said site selection is ongoing when Newsday asked how many dispensary locations had been identified on Long Island.

The conditional retail application process will open Thursday, Aug. 25. Regulators later plan to consider applications from a broader audience and prioritize people from communities with historically high marijuana arrest rates, veterans disabled during service and minority and women-owned businesses. 

By Sarina Trangle

sarina.trangle@newsday.comSarinaTrangle

Sarina Trangle covers affordability and cost of living issues and other business topics. She previously worked as an editor and reporter at amNewYork.