Designing a Cannabis Dispensary in New York
Although New York has had legal medical marijuana since 2014, the state’s recreational cannabis program is still in its infancy. Legalized in 2021 through the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), the first adult-use dispensary opened on December 29, 2022. Now, recreational cannabis retailers in New York are projected to generate between $1 billion-$1.2 billion in sales over the next year, growing to $2.2 billion-$2.7 billion by 2026.
Licensing and Compliance
The first New York medical marijuana dispensary opened at the start of 2016 and there are now 40 licensed dispensing facilities. The business licensing of medical and adult-use dispensaries is run by the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), which is now issuing conditional adult-use retail dispensary (CAURD) licenses.
CAURD licensees are the first dispensaries to open for legal adult-use cannabis sales in New York. These licenses have been reserved for qualified social and economic equity applicants, and the state has recently announced that they are doubling the initially reserved 150 licenses to 300.
Similar to New Jersey and Mississippi, New York also allows municipalities to opt out of permitting dispensaries, as well as consumption sites, or both. This has contributed to an early concentration of dispensaries in urban areas like New York City.
Since MRTA passed, adults 21 and older have been allowed to possess up to three ounces of cannabis flower and up to 24 grams of concentrated cannabis products. Consumers can identify licensed dispensaries by looking for the state-issued Dispensary Verification Tool posted in the window of legally licensed retailers. This allows consumers to quickly identify legal cannabis dispensaries from unlicensed sellers.
In addition to conditional adult-use dispensaries, the state plans to open business licensing to all applicants in the future, though no timeline has been determined. Proposed regulations to govern general retail licenses for adult-use dispensaries were released in December 2022 for public comment but have yet to be finalized. Those interested in applying for an adult-use cannabis dispensary license in New York should watch for additional updates in the coming months.
Shopping Experience and Merchandising
Dispensaries entering the New York market should be prepared for tough competition. New dispensary brands will need to compete with up to 300 established conditional adult-use dispensaries. Additionally, New York’s medical market includes some of the nation’s leading multi-state operators – all of which are eager to enter the state’s recreational cannabis market. Legal cannabis retailers will also need to hold their own against the state’s prominent grey market which includes illicit storefronts and trucks.
Since New York is set to be an extremely competitive market, dispensaries will need to invest in establishing a strong brand identity and curating a positive shopping experience. In addition to effectively merchandising products, dispensary design will need to consider factors like layout, lighting, and color scheme to create a welcoming and comfortable environment for customers while also adhering to regulatory guidelines.
New York’s current regulations play a major role in shaping the customer shopping experience. Compliant merchandising requires careful consideration of cannabis laws since the state prohibits cannabis from being viewable from outside the store and requires that products be secured and only accessible to authorized workers. This means all fixtures for displaying cannabis must be designed to control access to the product.
Display cases, shelving units, and other fixtures play an important role in organizing and displaying products, so it is important for retailers to invest in cannabis-compliant and aesthetically pleasing merchandising solutions. One such option is The Module System by SevenPoint Interiors, a proprietary modular fixture display collection created specifically for the cannabis industry. This pre-engineered solution offers infinite configurations and allows operators to create displays that are customized to their brand and floorplan, without a massive timeline or budget. Despite tough competition and regulatory challenges, New York’s emerging cannabis market is set to be one of the largest in the US. With the state soon to boast some of the most impressive dispensaries in the nation, those wanting to enter the market should get started designing their dispensaries today.
Why Chose SevenPoint Interiors?
SevenPoint Interiors’ is a premium retail design and manufacturing company specifically designated to the cannabis space -serving as a one-stop-resource by providing turnkey solutions to elevate the cannabis industry through retail design, for an enhanced shopping experience. Founded in 2017, as a division of Visual Elements Manufacturing -a leading retail design and manufacturing creative agency based in Toronto, Canada working on projects globally -SevenPoint Interiors is focused on enhancing the cannabis experience for patients and dispensary owners. With vertically integrated solutions, state-of-the-art commercial-grade equipment with manufacturing capabilities to execute custom fabrication and specialty finishes, the firm has strategically placed itself in a position to support multiple types of clients and retail projects inclusive to all budgets.
