New York Governor Signs Bills To Fix Marijuana Business Zoning Issue That Threatened Closure Of Over 150 Dispensaries | Cannabis Law Report | How to buy Skittles Moonrock online

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The governor of New York has signed legislation into law that revises zoning requirements for licensed marijuana businesses, granting more flexibility to retailers located within certain distances of schools and places of worship.

The bills, passed by the House and Senate and signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Wednesday, also grandfather in more than 150 existing retailers whose locations were retroactively found to be out of compliance with zoning requirements that created a buffer between cannabis dispensaries and schools and churches.

Last year, New York regulators notified the licensed retailers that they were mistakenly granted approval for their locations because the way distance was measured placed them closer to schools or places of worship than was permitted under the law.

While the marijuana law as enacted restricted zoning based on distance between a retailer and a school or church property line, in multiple cases the distance was being improperly assessed based on distance from main entryway to main entryway rather than by the edge of property lines.

Once the mistake was identified, the state notified affected businesses that they would either have to close or relocate. But amid litigation and industry pressure, the governor pledged to work with lawmakers to address the issue legislatively.

Now a door-to-door distance measuring policy has been codified under the measures from Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman (D) and Sen. Liz Krueger (D).

The new law specifies that cannabis retailers cannot be located on the same street and within 500 feet of a school, nor can they be located on the same street and within 200 feet of a house of worship.

Measurements to establish that distance, the newly enacted law states, must be “taken in straight lines from the center of the nearest entrance of the premises sought to be licensed to the center of the nearest entrance of such school or house of worship.”

A justification memo attached to the legislation says it will “codify the ‘door-to-door’ policy that had been in place at [the Office of Cannabis Management, or OCM] prior to July 28, 2025, and would grandfather in licenses granted as well as certain applications previously submitted under that standard.”

“If the school, house of worship or premises sought to be licensed is set back from a public thoroughfare, the walkway or stairs leading to any such door shall be deemed an entrance; and the measurement shall be taken to the center of the walkway or stairs at the point where it meets the building line or public thoroughfare,” the bills, A10140 and S9155, state.

New York Governor Signs Bills To Fix Marijuana Business Zoning Issue That Threatened Closure Of Over 150 Dispensaries