More than a year after the state legalised marijuana, and amid delays in creating the legal market to aid those previously imprisoned for marijuana-related offences, the first licenced marijuana store in New York finally opened its doors on Thursday.
A non-profit dedicated to battling AIDS and homelessness, Housing Works, founded the dispensary in New York City's East Village. The state granted a marijuana retail licence to the non-profit organisation last month, making it one of the first 36 organisations or people to receive one.
When New York lawmakers legalised marijuana in March 2021, they stipulated that it could only be sold by licenced retailers to adults over the age of 21, and that the first licences would be given to businesspeople who had previously been arrested or convicted for marijuana-related offences. This gave them an advantage over corporate retailers in the lucrative market. Retailers are also limited to selling marijuana that was grown and processed by approved New York producers.
In its early promises, New York stated that it would locate ready-to-open storefronts and business loans for the first licensees and that non-profit organisations that assist formerly imprisoned individuals, like Housing Works, might be eligible for certain licences. But the procedure took longer than was anticipated.
In the interim, a grey market has grown, with unlicensed dealers selling cannabis illegally out of shops and slickly branded trucks all across New York City.
Democratic mayor Eric Adams has stated that unlicensed merchants will not be accepted. The state's director of marijuana, Alexander, claimed that municipal and state law enforcement had been informing gray-market merchants of the licencing requirements, sending them cease-and-desist letters as a result, and, more recently, confiscating goods.
The fact that marijuana is still illegal under federal law despite being fully authorised in 20 other states might make it challenging for vendors to obtain business loans and other banking services.
Some of the smokable flower, which goes for $20 to $30 for an eighth of an ounce (or 3.5g), and the pre-rolled joints at Housing Works are made from marijuana that was grown by Florist Farms in Cortland in upstate New York.
The co-founder of the farm, Karli Miller-Hornick, declared that this will revolutionise their business. "We'll be able to employ additional employees."
The 13.5% tax on marijuana sales in New York will fund public housing, schools, addiction treatment centres, and mental health services.
On Thursday, the East Village's Peggy Pliscott, a 50-year-old hairstylist, celebrated the opening of the dispensary. People can support themselves, she remarked. "What people require can be legally purchased. It seems to be a win-win situation.
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