Molly Burke reports for the Times Union that New York's slow rollout of legal cannabis stores has stopped moving after State Supreme Court Justice Kevin R. Bryant issued an injunction Aug. 18 halting New York's marijuana licensing program. Bryant ruled that regulators had “failed to follow the clear language of the applicable legislation” that legalized cannabis. Bryant ruled that the state did not follow the language of the 2021 legalization statute. The judge said that New York fast-tracked applicants with past cannabis convictions at the expense of other “social equity” applicants, including minority- and women-owned businesses, as well as disabled military veterans. Applicants for stores now face confusion over the rules, and this court order blocking new licensing. The lawsuit was filed by four service-disabled veterans alleging the state unlawfully prioritized applicants with prior drug convictions while excluding others. So two years after New York legalized cannabis, only a few stores are open in the state, and no more will open with this court order in place. Read more about this story in the Times Union.