New York cannabis regulators have approved a deal to settle lawsuits that have blocked recreational marijuana dispensaries from opening. A judge still needs to approve the settlement, but is expected to do so, clearing the way to restart the state’s stalled legal cannabis market.

The New York Cannabis Control Board approved the settlement. The deal would lift a court order that has blocked the state from processing or issuing retail marijuana licenses since August. The order came as the result of lawsuits filed by state rules that allowed people with past drug convictions to get the first licenses.

The Associated Press reported that the New York retail marijuana market “has been in disarray since sales began almost a year ago. Bureaucratic problems and lawsuits have allowed only about two-dozen legal shops to open, while farmers sit on a glut of crops and an ever-growing black market of storefronts fill the void.”

Lawsuits Alleged New York System Is Discriminatory

One of the lawsuits filed against the state came from Carmine Fiore, a disabled military veteran. He claimed the state passed over he and other vets in favor of those convicted of a pot-related crime in awarding dispensary licenses.

“I feel like veterans were used to get a law passed, and a good law, one that helps many citizens and the state as well,” Fiore told CBS New York. “But once that law was passed, I feel we were cast aside for a separate agenda.”

According to CBS, the state has a list of different groups who were supposed to go first when it came to getting licenses, including those arrested on marijuana charges, minority and women, farmers, and veterans. However, the judge in the case halted the issuance of more licenses until the lawsuit was resolved. That left hundreds of cannabis stores in limbo.

The lawsuits came from veterans and from large medical marijuana companies.

Agreement Opens the Door to Move Forward

If approved, the deal will allow more than 400 provisional retail licensees to move forward with their stores, AP reported. Regulators also recently opened up a new general application window to grow, process, distribute or sell marijuana. New York regulators expect to issue more than 1,000 new licenses in a bid to kickstart the market.

“I think, with this, you are beginning to see a new chapter in New York state cannabis. I think everyone here is looking cautiously, but optimistically, turn the page and be able to move on to the next round,” attorney Ryan McCall told CBS.

State-sanctioned dispensaries could also help stem the tide of black market cannabis that has flooded the New York market (it’s also been a problem in nearby Connecticut, where officials are taking extraordinary steps to stop it). Only 26 licensed dispensaries have opened in New York, according to CBS, which added that this has given “illicit peddlers ample time to create illegal business in cash, without paying cannabis taxes.”