The New York State Office of Cannabis Management announced that it will be doubling the number of dispensary licenses awarded to those who were once criminalized for the drug, nearly two years after legalizing marijuana.

This expansion looks to advance the state’s seeding opportunity initiative, which provides licenses for the state’s first legal shops to those impacted most. In the Bronx, there will now be 20 licensed cannabis retailers. In Brooklyn, there will now be 38.  

Some say that while this opportunity is a point of entrance, it doesn’t come without unrealistic expectations.  

"You have to show two years of having an actual business,” said Hector “Freedom” Gerardo, executive director for 1 Freedom For All. “How many justice-involved people do you know that have a working business that've been in jail?" 

Gerardo says that as a family member of someone formerly incarcerated for cannabis charges that he is eligible for a license, but that it comes with lots of restrictions, including a non-refundable $2,000 application fee.