In July 2014, medical marijuana was legalized in New York but the licenses to sell were only announced on July 31 of this year.
Cost of medical marijuana fees are so exorbitant that applicants had to pay a refundable registration fee of $200,000 plus a $10,000 non-refundable fee. In Oregon application fee costs $4,000 and in Massachusetts, there is a requirement of a Stage One fee of $1,500 and a Stage two application 
fee of $30,000.
There were 43 companies that applied for license but so far only five companies — Bloomfield Industries, Columbia Care NY, Empire State Health Solutions, Etain and PharmaCann — had been duly awarded license to operate. Some states that legalized marijuana restrict the number of license holders, like in Florida and Minnesota, but others, such as Colorado and California, allow greater access to licensees.
Acquiring a license is just the first step in the tedious and cumbersome process of operating a dispensary and all these costs and expenses will naturally find its way on the price tags for patients.
A senior managing partner of a cannabis consulting firm estimates that the initial total capital and operating costs for properties, consultants, lawyers, lobbyists, architects, and build-out fees, in just the first year, will be about $15 million to $30 million for each company.
New York is on the course of providing certified patients access to medical marijuana more quickly than other states in the nation which take about two years or longer to completely roll out their medical marijuana program. While it may be so, the cost of investing in a marijuana dispensary in New York is staggering.