Why Does This Matter for Queens Cannabis Shoppers?
CAURD stands for Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary. It is the NY OCM license category created to prioritize social-equity operators (including those with past cannabis-related convictions or family impact) in the first wave of legal NY cannabis retail. Queens shoppers benefit from understanding CAURD because it explains why specific shops exist, who owns them, and why the legal market looks the way it does.
Al Cottone and Jeremy Rivera opened Terp Bros NYC to serve our neighbors with legal, lab-tested cannabis from a shop that knows Queens from the inside. This post pulls from real counter conversations, real product reviews, and the CAURD playbook that lets us operate. Our license is OCM-CAURD-23-000020 (Astoria) / OCM-CAURD-25-000294 (Ozone Park). The number tells a story about when, where, and under what framework the shop came online.
What Is the Short Answer?
CAURD is the NY OCM conditional license category that launched adult-use cannabis retail in NY. CAURD operators must meet social-equity criteria, comply with NY OCM Part 113 lab testing, use BioTrack state tracking, verify 21+ ID at entry, and sell only lab-tested under NY OCM standards product. Terp Bros is a CAURD licensee.
Below we lay out what we see on the floor, what the law allows, and what we recommend based on thousands of customer conversations across Astoria and Ozone Park. CAURD was the first operational license category in the state, which is why early NY legal dispensaries (including ours) are CAURD-licensed.
What Do We See on the Floor?
Queens shoppers often ask what the letters on our license mean, why our shop exists versus others, and whether CAURD shops are different from standard adult-use shops. Our answer is that CAURD was the first wave, operators are primarily social-equity qualified, and every CAURD shop operates under the same OCM regulations as other licensed retail.
At the Astoria flagship (36-10 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, NY 11105), our busiest hours are the post-work window from 5pm to 8pm and weekend afternoons. In Ozone Park (135-26 Cross Bay Blvd, Ozone Park, NY 11417), we see JFK workers, Howard Beach locals, and Resorts World guests mixed in with Cross Bay Blvd regulars. Shoppers ask questions in both shops. They want to understand what they're buying, not just grab a pack.
What Rules Shape This?
CAURD licenses are issued by NY OCM under the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act of 2021 and subsequent OCM rulemaking. Every CAURD operator must meet social-equity criteria, secure real estate approval, complete state security and compliance training, and maintain ongoing BioTrack integration and lab-testing compliance.
Every product on our shelf is lab-tested, state-tracked through BioTrack, and sold only to customers 21 and older with valid ID. Our CAURD license (OCM-CAURD-23-000020 (Astoria) / OCM-CAURD-25-000294 (Ozone Park)) was issued by NY OCM and requires compliance with packaging, marketing, security, and reporting rules. We follow the playbook because that's how Queens stays legal.
What Are the Practical Picks?
CAURD shops in Queens, including Terp Bros Astoria and Terp Bros Ozone Park, carry the full NY legal menu: Dogwalkers pre-rolls, MFNY eighths, Hudson Cannabis flower, Ayrloom gummies, Silly Nice rosin pre-rolls, Flamer vapes, and Stay Melo flower at Astoria. Brand availability is similar to non-CAURD adult-use shops; the license category does not restrict menu.
If you want a product that reflects the topic in this post, our budtenders can point you to specific Dogwalkers pre-rolls, MFNY eighths, Hudson Cannabis flower, Ayrloom gummies, Silly Nice rosin-infused pre-rolls, Flamer vapes, Stay Melo flower at Astoria, and house Terp Bros pre-rolls. Swing by either shop and ask, or preview the live menu.
What Are the Common Questions?
Common CAURD questions include what the acronym stands for, whether CAURD shops are different from standard adult-use shops (operationally no), what social-equity means in NY cannabis, and whether CAURD licensing will eventually merge with standard adult-use licensing.
Is this legal? Yes. Terp Bros NYC operates under NY OCM's CAURD license OCM-CAURD-23-000020 (Astoria) / OCM-CAURD-25-000294 (Ozone Park).
Where should I start if I'm new? A low-dose edible (2.5-5mg) or a low-THC pre-roll (under 18%). Ask at the counter.
Do you deliver? Yes. Delivery covers Queens neighborhoods from both locations.
How do I verify the shop? Check the NY OCM dispensary verification portal or look for our CAURD certificate on the wall.
What Queens Details Are in This Post?
Queens has been a significant CAURD rollout borough, with multiple licensed operators across Astoria, Ozone Park, Jackson Heights, LIC, and other neighborhoods. The social-equity framing has meant that many Queens CAURD operators have long community ties to the borough.
From Astoria Park to Gantry Plaza, Ditmars to Crescent, UBS Arena to Citi Field, Howard Beach to Rockaway Beach, we write about our borough. Our staff lives here. Our vendors show up in person. Our customers are neighbors.
What First-Time Queens Shoppers Should Know About CAURD
First-time Queens shoppers should know that CAURD (Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary) is the NY OCM license category that enabled the first wave of legal NY cannabis retail. CAURD operators meet social-equity criteria, comply with Part 113 lab testing, and use BioTrack state tracking. Every CAURD shop sells lab-tested under NY OCM standards product to customers 21 and older with valid ID.
For a first-time Queens shopper, here is what CAURD means in practice. When New York passed the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act in 2021 (commonly called MRTA), the state created a framework for legal adult-use cannabis with a specific social-equity priority. CAURD was the first license category to become operational. It was designed to put the first wave of legal retail in the hands of operators who had been personally impacted by prior cannabis criminalization, who had cannabis-related convictions in their family, or who qualified as non-profit organizations serving impacted communities. Terp Bros was founded under CAURD. Al Cottone and Jeremy Rivera, the founders, qualify under the social-equity criteria and are Queens-rooted operators. Our license number is OCM-CAURD-23-000020 (Astoria) / OCM-CAURD-25-000294 (Ozone Park). The "22" references the application year cohort, and the numeric string is our unique operator ID. When you visit Terp Bros, you can see the CAURD certificate on the wall, verify it against the NY OCM dispensary portal at cannabis.ny.gov, and confirm that the shop you are in is a state-licensed operator with full compliance authority. Once inside, the CAURD framework is invisible in the shopping experience: same ID check, same budtender intake, same lab-tested product, same compliant packaging, same BioTrack integration. The shopping process does not differ from a standard adult-use shop. The difference sits in who owns the shop and what history put them in the operator seat. Some customers report that learning the CAURD story changed how they feel about their purchase, because they can see directly who benefits from the sale. Every product on the shelf is lab-tested under NY OCM Part 113 standards, packaged to state compliance rules, and sold only to customers 21 and older with valid government-issued ID.
How CAURD Compares Across Queens Neighborhoods
CAURD operators are distributed across Queens with concentrations in Astoria, LIC, Jackson Heights, Ozone Park, Forest Hills, and other neighborhoods. Each CAURD shop operates under the same OCM compliance framework but reflects the specific history and community roots of its operators.
Queens hosts a significant share of NY CAURD operators because the borough has a large pool of social-equity qualified applicants with long community ties. In Astoria, Terp Bros at 36-10 Ditmars Blvd is one of multiple licensed shops in the neighborhood. In Long Island City, additional CAURD operators have opened with some proximity to the Astoria density. In Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, CAURD rollout has overlapped with ongoing enforcement against unlicensed shops, which has created visible contrast between legal and gray-market retail. In Ozone Park and Howard Beach, Terp Bros anchors the south-Queens CAURD footprint from Cross Bay Blvd. In Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Rego Park, and other middle-Queens neighborhoods, additional CAURD operators have opened. Across every Queens CAURD shop, the compliance rules are identical: lab-tested under NY OCM Part 113 standards, 21+ with valid ID, compliant packaging, and BioTrack tracking. The CAURD difference is primarily operator history and ownership, not shopping experience. Terp Bros provides delivery through the cannabis delivery service, which is itself licensed and tracked under our CAURD license OCM-CAURD-23-000020 (Astoria) / OCM-CAURD-25-000294 (Ozone Park).
What Budtenders Hear Most About CAURD
Budtenders most often hear questions about what CAURD stands for, why it matters, whether CAURD shops are different from standard adult-use, what social-equity actually means in NY cannabis, and how to verify a CAURD shop is legitimate.
The counter conversations repeat. "What does CAURD stand for?" gets the direct answer: Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary. "Is it different from standard recreational shops?" gets the honest answer that operationally no, the shopping experience is the same; the license category differs in who is eligible to apply and the priority timing of licensing. "What does social-equity mean here?" gets an explanation of the MRTA framework, which prioritized operators with prior cannabis-related convictions or family impact in the first licensing wave. "Will CAURD go away?" gets a nuanced answer: OCM is issuing additional license categories over time, and CAURD is one part of a broader licensing ecosystem that includes standard adult-use, microbusiness, and other license types. "How do I verify a CAURD shop is real?" gets a direct instruction to check cannabis.ny.gov and look for the specific license number on the wall. "Is Terp Bros' license real?" gets an invitation to look up OCM-CAURD-23-000020 (Astoria) / OCM-CAURD-25-000294 (Ozone Park) on the state portal. Some customers report that this conversation gave them a sense of civic participation in their cannabis purchase, because they now understood they were supporting a social-equity operator. Every answer the team gives maps back to the shared compliance posture: lab-tested under NY OCM Part 113 rules, 21+ with valid ID, BioTrack traceable, and sold only under NY OCM License OCM-CAURD-23-000020 (Astoria) / OCM-CAURD-25-000294 (Ozone Park).
