BUFFALO, N.Y. -- 3 Cord Ranch is one of about 200 established hemp growers that New York state granted conditional cannabis licenses this year.

Owner Todd Giolando said the farm has nine different strains in various stages of growth and he plans to begin harvesting monthly starting in August.

“We are a grower," he said. "We are growing a fabulous product to meet the expectations of the processors.”

Giolando said he will sell his product to a processor who will turn around and sell to a retailer. On Thursday, the Cannabis Control Board approved regulations and an application for conditional retailers.

Office of Cannabis Management Executive Director Chris Alexander said there are two primary eligibility points.

“The first is that they have been impacted by a marijuana related conviction," Alexander said. "That is a conviction that occurred prior to the passage of the new cannabis law in New York and the second is that they have experience owning and operating a small business.”

Alexander said the regulations are being submitted and finalized and OCM should give two-weeks notice of applications going live later this summer. The office will review the applications based on a scoring system and send them to the control board for final approval.

They expect 100-200 conditional retailers initially.

“Over the last 30 years, New York state has arrested more than a million people for cannabis offenses and we know as well that more than 400,000 of those actually got convicted of that offense, so we are working to undo and repair harm that’s been done. It’s been a lot so we do have large pool to pick from," Alexander said.

OCM expects some of the retailers to be up and running and legally selling cannabis in New York before the end of the year. Giolando said that’s good news for his family business.

“We are excited to be able to show that we can bring home grown product to market," he said.

OCM said conditional growers, retailers and processors will have a mechanism to transition when their initial licenses are up so long as they maintain compliance. New York expects to be the largest market in the world.