Loretto, the operator of Central New York’s largest nursing home and other senior health care services, has been awarded the region’s first license to sell recreational marijuana.
But the non-profit agency’s plans are still in the early stages. In statements, Loretto said the license was technically awarded to an affiliate agency, which hopes to find a third-party operator to open and run the retail outlet, called a dispensary.
The license is held by Advanced Institutional Support Services LLC, an affiliate that provides food services to Loretto. The third-party dispensary operator has not yet been identified, and there are not yet any decisions on a location or timetable for opening, according to the statement.
The primary goal in obtaining the license is to provide a new source of revenue to help Loretto offset what it says are losses through the state Medicaid program, according to the statement provided through Loretto’s public relations consultant, Crystal DeStefano of Strategic Communications.
“This is not an effort to get into the cannabis industry, rather it’s in response to a dire need to find new sources of income,” the statement said. “... “This is the first step in an effort to be prepared to diversify sources of revenue to make up for the serious deficiency in NYS Medicaid funding.”
The state’s Office of Cannabis Management included Loretto in a list of 30 new recreational marijuana retail licenses it announced Wednesday. That brings the total number of awarded state retail licenses to 66, although only two are now open for business, both in Manhattan.
So far, 56 of the retail licenses have been awarded to individuals who have been convicted of marijuana offenses no longer considered criminal, part of the state’s effort to provide social equity to those most affected by past drug enforcement.
Another 10 have been awarded to non-profits whose mission includes serving those who have been convicted or incarcerated for marijuana offenses, and/or have employees and associates in that community. That’s how the Loretto-affiliated application was made and approved.
“This initiative also aligns with Loretto’s longstanding model of pragmatic altruism – seeking a ‘win-win-win’ scenario to benefit our individual employees, as well as the organization overall, and the community at large,” Loretto said in its statement. “Many of Loretto’s employees have either been personally impacted or the communities in which they live have been impacted by the disproportionate enforcement of cannabis prohibition.
“... Any revenue we would receive from a CAURD business initiative would go directly to investing in better employee wages and more workforce development projects.”
Another non-profit with a presence in Central New York, the Center for Community Alternatives, has also been awarded a retail license. It has locations in New York City and Rochester in addition to Syracuse.
Loretto has about 2,500 employees working at 19 different locations in Onondaga and Cayuga counties, serving more than 10,000 people. It describes itself as the fourth-largest health care provider and the sixth-largest employer in the region.
If the Loretto-affiliated plans move ahead in a timely fashion, it could end up as the first legal state-licensed marijuana shop for recreational users in Central New York. There are existing medical marijuana dispensaries, and a recreational-use shop legally operated by the Cayuga Nation in Union Springs. There are also many illegal (unlicensed) marijuana shops in the area.
There is another wrinkle: The state is now prohibited from awarding retail licenses to individuals in Central New York and several other parts of the state because of a lawsuit filed last year.
In that case, a Michigan company is challenging New York’s rule that the successful licensees must have a “significant presence” in the state. A federal judge issued an injunction preventing the state from awarding licenses in regions of the state, such as Central New York, where that company indicated it was hoping to apply for a license. The state is appealing the decision.
The injunction, however, does not apply to the non-profits applying for licenses, according to Aaron Ghitelman, a spokesman for the state Office of Cannabis Management.
Although the state legalized possession of recreational marijuana for those 18 and older in April 2021, the rollout of the industry — growers, processors and retailers — has been slower to get under way.
Of the two state-licensed dispensaries now open, one is operated by the non-profit agency Housing Works, which provides homeless serviced in New York City. It opened in late December. The other, which opened this month, is operated by individual who qualified under the social equity provisions. All the other awarded licensees are still working to get open.
More coverage of cannabis in Central New York
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
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