BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — After being blocked by a lawsuit and months of waiting, four licenses have been approved for dispensaries in WNY.
“The approval of these licenses will help expedite building a robust and diverse supply chain while also ensuring that individuals that have been disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition have meaningful opportunities to participate in the industry,” said Chris Alexander, Executive Director of the Office of Cannabis Management.
These licenses are given out to people with prior cannabis convictions, they’re the first to get licenses statewide. The goal is for licensing to open up to everyone by the end of the year.
The licensees are:
Aaron Van Camp- Owned by Aaron Van Camp in BuffaloAMSM LLC- Owned by Gina Miller and Glen Miller in West SenecaFlower City Shop LLC- Owned by Jamie Donato-Rivera and Phetnakhone Duangtavilay in RochesterPremier Earth Corp.- Owned by Joseph Wojciechowski in Buffalo
This comes less than a week after a federal ruling gave the green light for dispensaries locally, ending an injunction that blocked five areas from receiving licenses, including WNY.
“We were kind of on edge about it last week because it was such a short time frame for them to be able to get it going, so