Eager, anxious and frustrated, Yuri Krupitsky is waiting to find out whether he’ll get to open one of the first legal recreational marijuana shops in New York state.
He wrangled a lengthy application to become one of about 900 hopefuls for a first round of 150 licenses, only to face new uncertainty from a court ruling last week. It temporarily blocks the state from greenlighting dispensaries in Krupitsky’s home turf of Brooklyn and some other regions.
Meanwhile, unauthorized pot shops have cropped up in droves.
Stores openly selling marijuana can now be found throughout New York City, operated by people who shrugged at licensing requirements.
“It’s unfair competition,” Kuritsky said. “Everyone’s just saying, ‘Sit around and wait,’ and in the meantime, I see shop after shop, and they’re making their money. I’m sitting around waiting to do it the right way.”
fortune.com/2022/11/18/is-marijuana-legal-new-york-state-unlicensed-stores-city/