The news tricked out slowly, then all at once: New York has settled the Variscite litigation, and the injunction prohibiting Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses in the Finger Lakes region has been lifted. The settlement was approved during the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) meeting on May 30, 2023, paving the way for new CAURD licenses to be issued.
For a brief refresher (a more detailed synopsis here), Variscite commenced litigation in September of 2022, seeking a judgment declaring the CAURD program unconstitutional based on the Dormant Commerce Clause. Judge Gary L. Sharpe granted Variscite’s motion for a temporary restraining order, enjoining the OCM from issuing CAURD licenses for the 5 regions listed in Variscite CAURD applications (Brooklyn, Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mid-Hudson and Western New York).
In March 28, 2023, the OCM’s motion to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit was granted, limiting the injunction to only the Finger Lakes region, Variscite’s first choice.
The settlement agreement between the OCM and Variscite (the Settlement Agreement) is itself really interesting, only because of the “relief” provided by the OCM to Variscite: that is, Variscite is guaranteed a “general (not social equity/CAURD) adult use retail dispensary
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