24 more pot shop licenses approved for Long Island

The state on Monday approved 24 "conditional" cannabis dispensary licenses for Long Island, bringing the number of businesses approved to open recreational pot shops on the Island to 37.

Regulators voted to issue about 100 licenses — nearly a third of the 300 regulators plan to hand out before taking applications from the general public. Another three conditional licenses may be handed out on Long Island, according to Aaron Ghitelman, a spokesman for the state Office of Cannabis Management, which oversees medical and recreational marijuana. 

The conditional licenses give a head start to people penalized under the old drug laws. They're available to New Yorkers who were — or are related to someone who was — convicted of a marijuana-related offense and have run businesses that turned a profit for at least two years.

The Long Island licenses went to entrepreneurs who have experience selling jewelry, insurance and supplements, according to biographies from OCM.

The recipients are authorized to open on Long Island, but they will still need to get official signoff on specific store locations. They may work with a social equity fund to secure retail space or independently find locations in towns that are permitting recreational dispensaries, including: Babylon, Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton. The licensees can't open within a certain distance of schools and houses of worship and must abide by local zoning rules. 

Zaqia Chaplin, a Freeport resident who runs a  nursing agency, said her parents served time for drug offenses, and the license was a good way to "give back" to communities that were harmed by the so-called War on Drugs. 

"It's a great opportunity," said Chaplin, noting that her father, who was incarcerated for  marijuana, will soon be able to visit her store. "He's extremely excited."

Chaplin said she is researching the state's  social equity fund, which will shoulder the upfront costs of launching and give licensees 10 years to pay off the investment plus 10% interest. She envisions her dispensary having a display board similar to the ones McDonald's uses to advertise meal combos. 

Adam Drake, a Suffolk resident, said he plans to distinguish his dispensary through branding and social media marketing. He is hoping to open with help from investors, rather than the social equity fund.

"Right now I'm looking on my own," said Drake, who owns an insurance company called The Drake Agency. "We can leave that [the social equity fund] for maybe some people that need it a little bit more."

Paul Lepore, of Suffolk County, also wants to avoid using the social equity fund because he thinks it will be quicker to independently launch the Happy Days Dispensary Inc. for which he won a license.

Investors managing the state-backed fund have acknowledged they missed a Sept. 1 deadline to secure $200 million in funding commitments. The state has refused to provide information on how much they've raised.  

Lepore anticipates a close friend investing in the business, which he wants to double as a cannabis education hub.  

"There's probably going to be a lot of people that are going to say: hey, let me try this because it's legal now," said Lepore, whose firm pHresh Products sells nutritional supplements and who recently worked for a cannabis processor. "We want to make sure that every individual … has the resources and education to answer any questions that they may have."

Ashieka Moore aims to cultivate an inclusive, comfortable vibe in a dispensary, ideally, located in Babylon. The Central Islip resident said she helped Long Islanders treat health conditions with cannabis while working as an assistant manager of a medical marijuana dispensary. 

"I've seen how it [cannabis] changed the quality of life, which helped change the stigma that surrounded it for a lot of people," said Moore, who previously ran an online smoke accessories shop. "I definitely am familiar with the Long Island patient."

The state plans to present revised rules for other recreational marijuana licenses at a May 11 meeting, according to John Kagia, director of policy at OCM. Regulators want to finalize rules and start accepting applications for recreational cultivation, processing, wholesaling, retailing and other licenses by the end of the year, Kagia said. 

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.