After a slow and tumultuous start in the Bronx, the cannabis industry gained some momentum in 2024. However, the journey for Bronx dispensaries remained challenging, as licensed operators and hopeful applicants faced obstacles like illegal shops, opposition from community boards, and legislative hurdles.
Many cannabis dispensaries opened in 2024 despite lacking support from community boards. For example, in January 2024, as stores prepared to open, many faced opposition from boards that had voted against granting them licenses. Of the 34 applications reviewed between September and December 2023, 25 were rejected by community boards, while only nine were approved.
The rejections, however, did not stop some of them from opening, since community boards do not have the autonomy to block them from being licensed. However, the board votes and recommendations are taken seriously by the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) when it awards cannabis retail licenses.
Aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs in the Bronx were determined to succeed, opening nine licensed dispensaries in the Bronx for the 2024 year through Dec. 20, which came on top of the two that opened in 2023. Still, dispensary owners told the Bronx Times that even after getting a license and opening for business, staying competitive and turning a profit wasn't easy.
Read more at Bronx Times