A federal judge in northern New York on Thursday allowed state cannabis regulators to delay their answer to a lawsuit filed on behalf of two Californians who argue that the second iteration of the Empire State’s rollout of the marijuana industry—from Oct. 4, 2023, to Dec. 18, 2023—unconstitutionally prioritized residents of New York who have prior cannabis convictions.
The lawsuit, originally filed on Dec. 18, alleges the second phase is unconstitutional because the Californians met all the requirements of New York’s licensing scheme, except for having past marijuana convictions in California, not New York.
