Cultivator License
An applicant for a cultivator license shall indicate the license tier in which it seeks to operate based on the size of the cultivation canopy and the type of cultivation as follows:
(1) A cultivator may only have one (1) cultivator license which will authorize the cultivator only one (1) type of cultivation and canopy tier as approved on the cultivator's application. A cultivator license may choose from the following four (4) different types of cultivation:
(i) indoor,
(ii) mixed light,
(iii) combination of outdoor with mixed light, or
(iv) outdoor.
Cultivator
(2) Indoor, Mixed-light, or Outdoor Cultivator Cultivation Tiers: A cultivator that is authorized to cultivate indoor, mixed-light, or outdoors is authorized to cultivate cannabis in one (1) of the following canopy tiers as authorized on the licensee's application:
(i) Tier 5. Greater than 50,000 square feet and up to but not exceeding 100,000 square feet.
(ii) Tier 4. Greater than 25,000 square feet and up to but not exceeding 50,000 square feet;
(iii) Tier 3. Greater than 12,500 square feet and up to but not exceeding 25,000 square feet;
(iv) Tier 2. Greater than 5,000 square feet and up to but not exceeding 12,500 square feet; or
(v) Tier 1. Up to, but not exceeding 5,000 square feet; 70
(3) Combination Cultivator Cultivation Tiers. A cultivator is authorized to cultivate outdoors with mixed light in one (1) of the following canopy tiers:
(i) Tier 5 Combination Cultivator. Greater than 50,000 square feet and up to but not exceeding 100,000 square feet of outdoor; and greater than 15,000 square feet and up to but not exceeding 30,000 square feet of mixed light.
(ii) Tier 4 Combination Cultivator. Greater than 25,000 square feet and up to but not exceeding 50,000 square feet of outdoor; and greater than 12,500 square feet and up to but not exceeding 15,000 square feet of mixed light;
(iii) Tier 3 Combination Cultivator. Greater than 12,500 square feet and up to but not exceeding 25,000 square feet of outdoor; and greater than 6,250 square feet and up to but not exceeding 12,500 square feet of mixed light;
(iv) Tier 2 Combination Cultivator. Greater than 5,000 square feet, and up to but not exceeding 12,500 square feet of outdoor; and greater than 2,500 square feet and up to but not exceeding 6,250 square feet of mixed light; or
(v) Tier 1 Combination Cultivator. Up to but not exceeding 5,000 square feet of outdoor; and up to but not exceeding 2,500 square feet of mixed light;
(4) A cultivator shall not expand or reduce its cultivation canopy beyond its licensed cultivation tier unless it has applied to the Office and received prior written approval from the Office. A cultivator license pursuant to subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of this section shall only be eligible to expand into a Tier 3 Mixed Light license.
(5) At the time of license renewal, cultivators shall provide inventory and production records requested by the Office during the six (6) months prior to the application for renewal. As part of the license renewal process, the Office may recommend that the Board exercise its discretion to reduce the licensee's maximum cultivation canopy based on the same criteria pursuant to subdivision (g) of this section. Upon such recommendation and prior to the Board making a determination, the licensee shall be given notice and reasonable time to appeal the Office's recommendation before the Board.
Cultivator Ownership, Interests, Authorizations and Prohibitions:
(a) (1) A cultivator may engage in the following licensed activities: acquire, possess, cultivate, trim, harvest, dry, and cure cannabis at its licensed premises;
(2) licensed processor, microbusiness, cooperative or collective, ROD, ROND, or a cannabis research licensee;
(3) transfer cannabis to a processor for processing without relinquishing ownership of that cannabis; and
(4) if such cultivator also holds a processor license, purchase cannabis from another cultivator for processing; and
(5) purchase clones, seedlings, cloned propagation material, tissue culture, cannabis seeds, and other immature cannabis plants, including mother plants, from a nursery.
sell cannabis only to licensees authorized to process cannabis, which includes a duly
(b) A cultivator that has a processor license may apply for and obtain one (1) distributor license.
(c) A cultivator or its true party of interest may be a true party of interest in a nursery, research, processor, or distributor license.
(d) No person shall be a true party of interest in more than one (1) adult-use cultivator license, or in an adult-use cultivator license and a cooperative or collective, microbusiness, ROD, or ROND license, provided, however, a true party of interest in an adult-use cultivator license may simultaneously be a passive investor in any number of adult-use cultivators, cooperatives or collectives, microbusinesses, RODs, or ROND, if such true party of interest complies with all restrictions governing such relationships, including, but not limited to, undue influence, control, and true party of interest requirements.
(e) A cultivator, or its true party of interest, may have a goods and services agreement with an adult-use nursery, cultivator, processor, distributor, cooperative or collective, microbusiness, ROD, or ROND license, subject to all restrictions governing such relationships, including, but not limited to, undue influence, control and true party of interest requirements.
(f) In addition to any other restrictions or prohibitions in this Title, including, but not limited to, Part 124, no cultivator or its true party of interest is permitted to have any direct or indirect interest, including by being a true party of interest, passive investor, or having a goods and services agreement with, or by any other means, in an adult-use retail dispensary, on-site
consumption, delivery, registered organization registered under article 3 of the Cannabis Law, or cannabis laboratory licensee or permittee.
Cultivator Operations:
(a) Immature cannabis plants.
(1) A cultivator shall assign a lot plant tag to each established lot of immature cannabis plants. The lot plant tag shall have at a minimum the cultivar name and lot name or bar code. A lot of immature cannabis plants under a single lot plant tag shall be uniform in cultivar and contain no more than 100 individual immature cannabis plants at any one time.
(2) A lot plant tag shall be visible and within clear view of an individual standing next to the immature cannabis plant lot and be kept free from dirt and debris.
(3) Each immature cannabis plant in the lot shall be labeled with a lot unique identifier and placed contiguous next to one another to facilitate identification of the lot unique identifier by the Office, or instead of labeling each immature cannabis plant in the lot, the lot shall be fully separated from other lots of immature or mature cannabis plants. In such cases, an individual immature cannabis plant does not need to be labeled with the corresponding lot unique identifier but this information must be tracked and maintained in the licensee inventory managament system.
(4) Within three (3) calendar days of receiving or acquiring an immature cannabis plant, a cultivator shall assign a lot plant tag belonging to the cultivator in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subdivision.
(5) A lot plant tag shall be applied to each individual cannabis plant as specified in this subdivision at the time the plant is moved to the designated canopy area or begins flowering.
(b) Mature cannabis plants.
(1) A mature cannabis plant shall be tagged with a plant tag. A plant tag shall be attached to the main stem at the base of each plant, placed in a position so it is visible and within clear view of an individual standing next to the mature cannabis plant, and kept free from dirt and debris.
(2) A cultivator is prohibited from removing the plant tag from the mature cannabis plant to which it was attached and assigned until the plant is harvested or disposed of.
(c) Harvested cannabis plants.
(1) A cultivator shall maintain records of proposed staggered harvests and harvest periods;
(2) Harvested plants that are hanging, drying, or curing shall be assigned a unique harvest batch name, which shall be recorded in the licensee's inventory tracking system and placed within clear view of an individual standing next to the harvested batch. The assigned harvest
batch name shall match the name that is in the licensee's inventory tracking system and the harvest batch name attached to the physical batch.
(3) Each harvest batch shall be assigned a tag or label and recorded in the licensee's inventory tracking system that can be traced back to the immature plant lot.
(4) For harvested plants held in containers, the harvest batch name shall be affixed to the container holding the harvested batch.
(5) If harvested plants are held in multiple containers, the harvest batch name and lot unique identifier shall be affixed to each of the containers. Additionally, each unit within a container shall be labeled with the harvest batch name and applicable lot unique identifier. All containers with the same lot unique identifier shall be placed contiguous to one another to facilitate identification by the Office.
(d) Regenerative agricultural practices. A cultivator shall take steps to further the promotion of biodiversity, and shall make evidence of these practices available to the Office upon request, by implementing methods such as the following, as appropriate to the cultivation methodologies and context:
(1) intercropping;
(2) crop rotation;
(3) planting, or promotion of native plants;
(4) providing habitat for native animals;
(5) planting or promoting specific species that promote native pollinator activities;
(6) protecting native waterways through maintaining wild farm edges and removing invasive
species;
(7) creating on-farm compost or locally sourcing organic compost to improve soil fertility; or
(8) other methods that promote biological diversity as approved by the Office.
(e) Agricultural inputs.
(1) A cultivator shall only allow pesticides to be applied on the licensed premises by a person certified by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as a pesticide applicator or technician, or by an individual who is a pesticide apprentice acting in accordance with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regulation, unless otherwise provided for, which may be issued by the Office.
(2) The Office may determine general use pesticides approved for private application in cannabis cultivation. Only general use pesticides approved by the Office for private application in cannabis cultivation may be applied on the licensed premises of a cannabis cultivator by a person who is not certified by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as a pesticide applicator or technician or is not an individual who is a pesticide apprentice acting in accordance with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regulations.
(3) A cultivator shall record any agricultural inputs used during cultivation, including, but not limited to, beneficial insects, pesticides, fertilizers, soil amendments, and other plant protection products. Such records shall be made in the licensee's inventory tracking system.
(f) On-premises based identification.
(1) A cultivator shall:
(i) have an on-premises based identification system that allows the cannabis and cannabis product to be tracked back to the licensee and specific cultivation site, to the block and bed level or similar identification, and tracked forward throughout the supply-chain to the next distribution point;
(ii) be able to link harvested cannabis by lot number or harvest date to the cultivation records. Such data shall be made available to the Office upon request; and
(iii) have an on-premises based identification system which shall be able to integrate with the inventory tracking system used by the Office.
(g) Energy and Environmental.
(1) A cultivator shall adopt and use additional energy management practices as determined by the Board, the Office, and any applicable agencies or departments. Cultivators shall maintain and provide the following information at the request of the Office, in a format determined by the Office:
(i) energy consumption by source (monthly, including consumption and demand);
(ii) water consumption (gallons per month);
(iii) on-site generation (monthly);
(iv) cannabis yield by dry weight (annual) for the previous 12-month period and for each month of the 12-month period, excluding stalks, stems, and fan leaves;
(v) waste (pounds per month); and
(vi) any other information as determined by the Office to assist with energy and resource usage reporting.
(2) Cultivators shall use a resource manager to track energy consumption metrics, as approved by the Office, and report utility and energy bills, together with cannabis yield data, to the Office upon request.
(3) If applicable, have an indoor or mixed-light cannabis cultivation facility that shall satisfy energy and environment standards established by the Office and meet all applicable environmental laws, regulations, permits and other applicable approvals, including, but not limited to, those related to water quality and quantity, wastewater, solid and hazardous waste management, and air pollution.
(4) Cultivators shall comply with all requirements set forth by the Board and as set forth in Part 125 of this Title, including, but not limited to, energy and environmental requirements for lighting and HVAC, and any other requirements of the Office.
(h) Cannabis drying. A cultivator shall:
(1) maintain any drying areas in a manner that ensures the areas are clean, well-ventilated, and free from condensation, sewage, dust, dirt, toxic chemicals or other contaminants when used to dry cannabis; and
(2) ensure all buildings used for drying provide adequate environmental controls to prevent harmful growth of bacteria or mold and are of adequate size to properly dry the volume of cannabis produced;
(i) A cultivator may operate only in the canopy tier in which it is authorized to operate pursuant to its license.
(j) Conditional Cultivator License. A conditional cultivator licensed pursuant to section 68-c of the Cannabis Law is subject to all rules and regulations in this Title applicable to a cultivator.
HOW CAN APPLICANTS PREPARE NOW FOR THE UPCOMING ADULT-USE CANNABIS LICENSE APPLICATION CYCLE?
The first step in preparing for your cannabis license application is to retain a cannabis business attorney.
Leaf Legal, P.C. is fully equipped to assist your legal needs in New York's rapidly expanding licensing and regulatory scheme. Contact the attorneys at Leaf Legal, P.C. to request a consultation.