Weed License ‘Equity’ Goal Deemed Unlawful

New York’s retail cannabis licensing scheme prioritizing applicants with New York marijuana convictions must be halted, the Second Circuit said Tuesday, throwing a wrench into a market with $200 million in annual sales.

The ruling that the scheme is likely unconstitutional puts pressure on state regulators to respond and could end up before the US Supreme Court, cannabis lawyers said.

It was “undeniably the intended purpose” of New York’s 2021 law legalizing sales “to provide preferential treatment to individuals that have suffered, either directly or indirectly from incarceration,” said Mauricio Agudelo, who teaches cannabis law ...