Dozens Of Firms Vie For 5 Medical Marijuana Growing Licenses In New York
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Friday is the final day for those hoping to win a slot as one of five medical marijuana dispensaries in New York to submit applications.
Nearly three dozen firms are expected to submit bids for five growing licenses from the state, according to Capital New York.
Long Island-based firm PalliaTech is already looking for its business to take root in Brooklyn, even though they haven't been awarded a license.
The company has signed a lease for dispensary space on Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn, with another facility planned in Newburgh.
"The state is looking for companies that can get up and running as soon as possible," PalliaTech executive Andrei Bogolubov said, adding he doesn't believe security will be an issue. "This will be a very secure site. It will have electronic, physical and human security."
The lease is contingent upon the company receiving a state license.
The state is expected to award licenses this summer.
Pointing to a narrow list of ailments and pot products allowed, critics call New York's program restrictive and even unworkable.
WEB EXTRA: Read The Regulations
"There's very likely to be patients who are not going to be able to access the medicine that they need as a result of simple geographic location and that's not just inhumane, it is unfair and unjust," Gabriel Sayegh with the Drug Policy Alliance told WCBS 880's Paul Murnane.
The Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo authorized the program under a law signed last July. It authorizes patients with certain diseases to be able to obtain non-smokeable versions of the drug.