When will Staten Islanders be able to purchase legal marijuana?
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It could be close to two years before Staten Islanders and residents across the state will be able to purchase cannabis after the state legislature didnt make necessary appointments to the newly formed Cannabis Control Board or Office of Cannabis Management. In March, New York state became one of 16 states to fully legalize adult-use recreational marijuana. While certain parts of the law  like decriminalization and smoking  took effect immediately, other parts of the law, like sales, cannot take place until appointments are made and tasks and regulations are established. Before sales can begin, the state must set up rules and a proposed cannabis board. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has already established the Office of Cannabis Management, which will set guidelines and issue licenses necessary for residents to distribute, process, farm and open dispensaries and consumption locations. However, the legislative session ended without the appointment of the 13-member board and the Office of Cannabis Management is still without an agency head, according to several reports. The director of the Office of Cannabis Management is to be appointed by Cuomo and confirmed by the state senate. Cuomo will also appoint seven members of the Cannabis Control Board; senate and assembly leadership get three appointments each. Experts estimate that once the appointments are made, it could take at least 12 months  not including the public comment period and processing of applications -- before the rules are established and licenses can be applied for. Thats really unfortunate. The longer they wait the longer the program will take to get going which only harms small businesses and the social equity part of the program, Troy Smit, deputy director at Empire State NORML, which has advocated legal marijuana for decades, told NYUp.com. The board will be tasked with how the social equity aspect of the law is carried out: 50% of license applicants will go to those in communities who were hardest impacted by the war on drugs and marijuana, low-income neighborhoods, those with marijuana-related convictions, in addition to minority and women owned businesses (MWBEs), according to The Post Journal. Kaelan Castetter, director of policy analysis for Castetter Cannabis Group, who helped shape the states cannabis legislation, told BizJournal that appointments should have happened in April or May. Its definitely worrisome we could be looking at a multi-multi-month delay again for the rollout of this program because they need to start developing the regulations, Castetter said. FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER.