Dozens of Licensed Weed Shops Were Placed Too Close to Schools

Dozens of Licensed Weed Shops Were Placed Too Close to Schools

State regulators said that a misreading of the law that legalized cannabis in New York allowed some shops to open in unsuitable locations. Those businesses may be uprooted now.
By Ashley Southall
July 28, 2025

More than 100 licensed cannabis dispensaries in New York were allowed to open too close to schools and may have to move, state regulators said on Monday.
State law prohibits dispensaries from opening within 500 feet of schools. For the past three years, regulators in the Office of Cannabis Management have measured the distance from the entrance of the potential dispensary to the entrance of a school. However, the agency said on Monday that the distance should have been measured to a school’s property line.