New York seeks former cannabis convicts to run first legal weed dispensaries

The state is looking for people who were convicted of weed offences to help establish its legal marijuana market

Lawmakers in New York legalised cannabis last year
Lawmakers in New York legalised cannabis last year Credit: Getty Images

Former convicts jailed on marijuana-related offences in New York are being offered the chance to run the state’s first legal weed dispensaries, as it looks to “atone” for the damage from the US’s decades-long "war on drugs".

Where other states have banned people with certain criminal histories from the industry, New York is actively seeking people “with experience” to help establish what is set to become the biggest legal marijuana market in the country.

Lawmakers here legalised cannabis last year with a focus on social equity, giving opportunities to people of colour who are swept up on drug charges at a vastly higher rate than their white peers.

Ever since his 2018 conviction for possession of marijuana, David Smith has found it difficult getting a stable job.

“I feel like people judge you, put a label on you like you’re a dopehead,” the 37-year-old former car dealer told The Sunday Telegraph.

It was to his surprise then when he became one of the hundreds to hear last month from a New York city official with its unusual proposition.

Under the new regulations governing Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary licences, applicants qualify if they can prove they are “a parent, legal guardian, child, spouse, or dependent who was convicted of a marijuana-related offence in New York State prior to March 31, 2021.”

More than 500 applications were submitted before the September 26 deadline, lawyers working with applicants told The New York Times.

The move in New York comes as the Biden administration overhauled decades-long US policy on marijuana on Thursday by pardoning thousands of people with federal offences for simple marijuana possession and initiating a review of how the drug is classified.

The Biden administration pardoned thousands of people with federal offences for simple marijuana possession on Thursday
The Biden administration pardoned thousands of people with federal offences for simple marijuana possession on Thursday Credit: Reuters

President Joe Biden noted that non-white people are disproportionately affected by marijuana possession convictions, which in addition to sometimes including jail time can unleash years of legal fallout, creating difficulties in getting work and education.

He pointed to government health authorities estimates that suggest the substance is used by at least 18 per cent of the American population.

In New York, the cannabis industry is expected to grow to include some 900 retail licences and generate $4.2 billion in revenue in taxes by 2027, according to an industry report.

New York state cannabis regulators plan to issue 150 recreational licences this autumn, including 70 in the city. An additional 25 licences will go to nonprofits serving people who have been arrested or incarcerated.

Many have welcomed New York’s move to help former felons make an honest living. Others, including Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, are more sceptical.

“The logic of the state preference for ex-convicts is based in part on the idea that a history of illegally selling pot constitutes relevant ‘business experience’,” he wrote. 

“Yet the experience derived from running a criminal drug operation doesn’t translate well to the demands of a lawful business.

“Pushing former criminals to the head of the line doesn’t seem the best way to ensure the money isn’t wasted."

For Mr Smith, a father-of-three in the Bronx, however, it is the opportunity to start afresh.

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