Caurd Intro Letter
May 27, 2025
Dear Industry Stakeholders, Policymakers, and Community Partners,
We are proud to introduce the Cannabis Association for Unified Retail Development (CAURD, Inc.), a member-driven organization founded by New York’s first Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licensees who participated in the state’s DASNY Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund.
Our launch comes at a critical time for cannabis equity in New York. While the state’s social equity initiatives aimed to empower historically marginalized communities, many licensees face serious financial and operational challenges that threaten the program’s original intent. What was envisioned as a path to opportunity has, for many, become a burden of debt, uncertainty, and unmet promises.
CAURD, Inc. was formed to confront this reality. We are a unified voice for reform, accountability, and progress—driven by those most affected. Our mission is to ensure that cannabis equity in New York and across the country moves beyond symbolic gestures and delivers tangible results.
Our mission is grounded in four core pillars:
Economic Empowerment: Expanding access to capital, business development, and financial literacy for equity retailers.
Membership Engagement & Growth: Building a strong network of licensed operators across New York and beyond to share resources and drive collective success.
Government Affairs & Advocacy: Influencing cannabis policy through strategic engagement and demanding accountability from public institutions and agencies.
Legal Defense & Litigation Support: Protecting licensees from exploitative practices and ensuring enforcement of equity commitments through legal action.
Our shared experience reflects a deeper issue: equity licensees have often been celebrated publicly while privately navigating broken promises, regulatory hurdles, and institutional indifference. CAURD, Inc. exists to transform these challenges into organized action and systemic change.
We invite fellow licensees, policymakers, industry leaders, and community allies to join us in building a truly equitable cannabis market. Through strategic membership growth and coordinated advocacy, we are laying the foundation for a New York cannabis industry rooted in fairness, integrity, and inclusive economic development.
This is a defining moment. We can continue with frameworks that promote equity in name only—or we can push for real reform. CAURD, Inc. stands for the latter. CAURD, Inc. embodies our collective commitment to systemic change—dedicated to building an industry that truly delivers on its promises to the communities it was designed to serve.
We welcome the opportunity to collaborate in developing a cannabis industry that delivers on its commitments and realizes its potential for meaningful social and economic transformation.
Respectfully,
Alexander Ortecho Interim President, CAURD, Inc. Co-owner, Bronx Joint
