Approximately 18 months after passage of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA)—which overhauled New York's medical marijuana program and was intended to usher in an adult-use market—New York finally appears to be on the verge of opening a limited number of recreational dispensaries in the coming months. Unlike New Jersey, which kicked off its own recreational sales earlier this year by allowing existing medical marijuana dispensaries to begin recreational sales as the initial phase of its program, New York has opted for a staged approach that puts social equity applicants at the forefront, even though the MRTA does envision a process for medical dispensaries to begin recreational sales at some point. The choice appears to be rooted in New York's desire to give dispensaries majority owned by social equity applicants—mainly individuals impacted by the war on drugs—a head start, before expected competition from better capitalized dispensary owners.