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Licensed Dispensary

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Licensed NYC Dispensaries Sue State Over Store Proximity Rules

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Four licensed New York dispensaries filed suit against state regulators in January 2025, arguing that the Cannabis Control Board has been quietly granting proximity waivers to competing operators without notice, analysis, or due process. The case was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court and names both the CCB and OCM as defendants. At the center of the dispute is a provision in New York law requiring licensed dispensaries to be at least 1,000 feet apart in larger municipalities. The plaintiffs allege the CCB handed out at least six Public Convenience Waivers of that rule, including one that allowed a competing shop to open just 956 feet from an existing licensed operator in Brooklyn, all without the multi-factor statutory analysis the law requires. Operators say they made significant financial commitments based on the assumption that proximity protections would be enforced, only to have those protections quietly bypassed.

The lawsuit drew broad support from across the licensed cannabis industry, with 38 other CAURD licensees signing on in affirmation alongside organizations including the National Hispanic Cannabis Council and the Service Disabled Veterans in Cannabis Association. The plaintiffs put the stakes plainly: when proximity rules get waived without guardrails, communities get oversaturated, small operators get undercut, and the licensed market weakens overall. That is bad for everyone who followed the rules, invested in compliance, and built real businesses with real community accountability. New York legalization was supposed to create a fair, structured marketplace, and enforcing the rules that were promised is fundamental to making that real.

Sources The Cannabis Place is mentioned in:

  1. https://nypost.com/2025/01/10/us-news/licensed-nyc-pot-shops-sue-state-in-turf-war-over-competition/
  2. https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/us-states/new-york/news/15711806/4-new-york-dispensary-licensees-sue-state-regulators-over-buffer-rule
  3. https://www.ganjapreneur.com/new-york-cannabis-retailers-say-officials-are-ignoring-industry-spacing-rules

Osbert Orduña

Osbert Orduña is a Marine Corps Service Disabled Veteran and the CEO and founder of The Cannabis Place, where he leads one of the country’s first social equity and unionized cannabis dispensary initiatives. He draws on his lived experience growing up in NYC Public Housing and his career in public service to guide an approach centered on opportunity, fairness, and community benefit. Before entering the cannabis industry, he built a successful government contracting firm and developed strong expertise in emergency management, security operations, and compliance. Osbert now contributes to national conversations on cannabis equity and workforce development through advisory roles with organizations such as the Cornell/WDI Cannabis Workforce Initiative, the National Hispanic Cannabis Council, and the Service Disabled Veterans in Cannabis Association. His writing focuses on practical insights, community empowerment, and building a more ethical and inclusive future for legal cannabis.
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