However, there are still a significant number of areas where cannabis commerce won’t be immediately permitted, with one list from the Rockefeller Institute counting 642 dispensary opt-outs and 733 consumption site opt-outs as of Sunday.
But while the institute’s dashboard is regularly updated, it notes that it “does not represent real-time, official information on municipalities’ opt-out decisions.”
Municipalities that don’t proactively move to ban the businesses on at least a temporary basis will default to an indefinite opt-in.
To that end, it’s important to note that the numbers on opt-outs doesn’t necessarily reflect a local government’s position on marijuana legalization overall. As in New Jersey, where a majority of cities have initially chosen not to permit retailers following the reform implementation, some New York municipalities have simply decided to opt-out for now ahead of the deadline so that they have more time to prepare and craft local rules.