New York’s troubled pot program just got burned again.
A judge ruled Friday that the Hochul administration’s problem-plagued legal-marijuana initiative will remain on ice — because the state likely illegally favored drug felons over other groups such as disabled veterans in dishing out licenses to sell ganja.
Albany state Supreme Court Judge Kevin Bryant handed down the preliminary injunction after four New York army vets sued the administration earlier this month, arguing, in part, that the state’s cannabis licensing program was unconstitutional.
The injunction, which follows a temporary order handed last week, bans Empire State regulators from awarding any more cannabis licenses, or approving any new dispensaries to open, pending a final decision in the suit.
“It is the finding of this court that [the veterans] have established a likelihood of success [of their lawsuit] on the merits by articulating meritorious constitutional arguments regarding the actions and decisions of [the state],” the judge’s ruling said.
The crux of the lawsuit alleges the state Office of Cannabis Management and state Cannabis Control Board unconstitutionally established a process that made it a requirement to have a prior marijuana-related conviction to be eligible for the first round of licenses doled out.
The move occurred despite the state’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act listing disabled vets as one of five priority “social and economic equity” groups that should get at least 50% of employment opportunities in the budding pot industry.
Still, under the process, only disabled veterans who were partnered with someone with a marijuana conviction were awarded a license during the first go-round.
By doing so, the state appears to have “failed to follow the clear language of the applicable legislation,” the judge said.
The four disabled vets at the heart of the suit — Carmine Fiore, Dominic Spaccio, William Norgard and Steve Mejia — issued a joint statement in the wake of Friday’s ruling saying their “fight has always been for equal access to this new and growing industry.
“We believe in a robust, accessible, and thriving adult-use cannabis sector for New York state and today’s decision — by correctly recognizing the irreparable harms we are facing through the board’s and OCM’s failures to follow the law — will help put the state back on track toward achieving this goal,” they said.
“OCM has resoundingly failed to create the legal cannabis market envisioned by New York’s MRTA, in large part by keeping licenses out of the hands of service-disabled veterans and other minority groups the law prioritizes,” the group added.
The judge’s procedural ruling left legal cannabis sellers rattled — and upset the decision put a freeze on their budding industry.
“This injunction is a major problem,” Osbert Orduna, CEO of The Cannabis Place delivery service in Queens, told The Post on Friday.
Orduna, a disabled vet whose business partner has a prior weed conviction, allowing them to open a pot home-delivery service, said he wants to expand and open a licensed cannabis store in Middle Village, Queens — but that the ruling has put those plans on hold.
“It’s not only going to delay our store opening, it’s going to delay hiring, construction and create challenges for investment,” he said.
The state’s legal cannabis program has been criticized for its slow rollout, which critics say has allowed an illegal market to thrive.
Just 21 adult-use retail dispensaries have opened nearly two and half years since the legislation was passed, with a backlog of 463 cannabis-licensed operators that have yet to begin operating.
Hochul’s office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment on the ruling.