As was previously covered in this column, New York’s ambitious social equity focused recreational cannabis has faced its fair share of challenges. And, if the latest lawsuit by the “Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis” (CARSC) is any indication, the hits will just keep on coming. According to reports, CARSC consists of at least four of the state’s “registered organization” (its legacy medical marijuana operators)—Acreage Holdings, PharmaCann, Green Thumb Industries and Curaleaf—who have a pathway toward vertically integrated recreational cannabis sales under the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA).

The CARSC plaintiffs are seeking to invalidate the Office of Cannabis Management’s (OCM) roll-out of the conditional adult-use retail dispensary (CAURD) program as inconsistent with certain provisions of the MRTA. At the same timethey also take issue with New York’s generally slow implementation of the recreational cannabis provisions of the law, and the lack of enforcement that has allowed the “grey” market to proliferate in New York state (both of which have long been pain points for other hopeful participants in the licensing process).

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