New cannabis dispensary licenses in New York will be on hold for at least two more weeks.

The decision Friday by state Supreme Court Justice Keivn Bryant of Albany County keeps in place a temporary restraining order Bryant had issued on Monday stopping state officials from awarding new dispensary licenses while the court case continues. The next court date in the case — Carmine Fiore et al v. New York State Cannabis Control Board et. al. — is Aug. 25. New filings in the case are due by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Service-disabled veterans Carmine Fiore, William Norgard, Steve Mejia and Dominic Spaccio filed their lawsuit against the state Cannabis Control Board, state Office of Cannabis Management and related officials on Aug. 2. They argue the Cannabis Control Board and Office of Cannabis Management have usurped powers granted to the state Legislature by imposing social and economic policies that weren’t included in the original Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act when it was passed in 2021. They allege the creation of the CUARD license was improperly limited to “justice involved individuals” who own a profitable “qualifying business” while postponing the licensing of additional dispensaries necessary to satisfy consumer demand.

Fiore, Norgard, Mejia and Spaccio argue the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act requires the state to open all adult-use retail dispensary applications at the same time, which is not what has happened. The MRTA includes 11 different types of licenses divided into two tiers — production and retail.

Before Friday’s hearing, Bryant ruled four business owners who are trying to open their own cannabis shops could testify in court in the case. The business owners argue their businesses could be harmed if the veterans’ lawsuit ends up taking months to resolve and wanted the opportunity in court to make their case because they felt the state wasn’t able to articulate the business owners’ arguments properly. All four businesses have been awarded licenses under the CUARD program.

“Through this litigation, plaintiffs seek to invalidate existing licenses and/or delay Defendants from moving forward with authorizing new adult retail dispensaries to open, including those owned by the CAURD intervenors,” attorney Jorge Luis Vazquez Jr. of Esperanza Segarra Esq. in Albany wrote. “If plaintiffs’ relief is granted and defendants are ordered to withhold from permitting new retail dispensaries from opening immediately the CAURD Intervenors will face grave harm, including but not limited to forced bankruptcy. This is not theoretical. There is no question that the CAURD Intervenors interests will not be adequately represented by the present parties to this litigation and that the CAURD Intervenors will be impacted by any determination in this action.”

In his affidavit to the court, Fiore argued he has already been economically harmed by the state’s creation of and focus on the CUARD program. Fiore, a former U.S. Army National Guard member, was injured while serving at Fort Sam Houston and aggravated the injury serving during Hurricane Sandy.

When Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the legislation in March 2021 legalizing adult-use recreational marijuana, Fiore former Fiore Enterprises as a service-disabled veteran-owned business and spent $11,000 on consultants, accountants and attorneys as well as a location for a business. There were only four towns and four villages on Long Island that allow marijuana dispensaries, and Fiore estimates there were only 15-20 available properties in Suffolk County that could house his business.

The creation of CUARD licenses, which exclude service-disabled veterans and the other priority classes included in the state’s marijuana legalization program approved by the legislature, has excluded him from executing the contract on the property and cost him the rest of his investment. So far, the state has approved 463 CUARD licenses, according to Fiore, and none for the other legislature-approved classifications of business owners.

“Defendants’ unconstitutional CAURD program has vitiated the priority status the MRTA confers on me as a service-disabled veteran and denied me the opportunity to become a market leader and industry pioneer,” Fiore wrote. “But unless this court intervenes immediately to enjoin defendants from awarding or processing more provisional CAURD licenses and/or from approving any more CAURD licenses to commence operations, the Defendants’ defiance of New York state’s Constitution will persist. If defendants are permitted to continue unabated, this will practically foreclose the region of Long Island to service-disabled veterans intent upon opening adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries. At a minimum, it will severely circumscribe their options for siting an adult-use cannabis retail dispensary elsewhere in New York state.”