The New York State Cannabis Control Board on Monday voted to approve a settlement for two lawsuits, in a move that board members said, when finalized, would allow more pot dispensaries to open across the state. The lawsuits – one filed by a group of service- disabled veterans and the other filed by a coalition of medical cannabis dispensaries – claim they were kept from obtaining dispensary licenses from the state board, who prioritized applicants with drug convictions under the CAURD program. As a result, a federal judge blocked the state board from issuing CAURD licenses until the matter was settled. The Cannabis Control Board’s counsel said at the meeting Monday that terms of the settlement were confidential. The plaintiffs will now present their stipulations to the court for review. If they are approved by the court, the CAURD injunction will be lifted, and licenses will be processed and issued again. Tremaine Wright, chair of the Cannabis Control Board, said that would mean some 436 provisional licensees across the state could move forward with their business plans that had been halted. State Sen. Jeremy Cooney was pleased with the board’s vote. “My priority is to jumpstart the legal retail market to ensure safe and legal cannabis access across the state,” he said in a statement. “We made a promise to New Yorkers to create the most equitable marketplace in the nation, and we still have work to do.” The Cannabis Control Board has provisionally approved 16 CAURD licenses in the Rochester-Finger Lakes region. — Andrea Deckert, Daily Record Staff