The first legal weed dispensary in NYC is open for business

The primary sale of adult-use recreational marijuana in New York was made in the present day at a Manhattan authorized weed dispensary, marking the start of a brand new chapter within the state’s long-running hashish saga.

Housing Works Hashish Firm opened Thursday close to Astor Place in a 4,400 square-feet storefront that includes a white-walled, minimalist really feel. All kinds of hashish merchandise have been on show, together with gummies and vaporizers.

The primary sale was made to Chris Alexander, govt director of the NY State Office of Cannabis Administration, at an occasion primarily for press and politicians. He bought watermelon gummies.

The primary sale to most of the people is scheduled to happen simply after the dispensary opens its door to the general public at 4:20 p.m. (Observe to shoppers: Gross sales will likely be money solely.)

As we speak’s sale has been a very long time within the making. coming practically two years after leisure use marijuana was legalized in New York state. Within the meantime, a grey market of unlawful weed gross sales has exploded throughout town, sparking anger in neighborhoods together with the Upper West Side and Chelsea.

Amid that concern, Mayor Adams announced a major crackdown on unlicensed hashish outlets. The New York Metropolis Sheriff’s Workplace and different businesses seized 600 kilos of weed and issued 500 civil summonses and 66 felony summonses to sellers promoting unregulated pot as a part of the enforcement program.

“Legalization for us has by no means been about simply freedom to plant. We acknowledged actually early the intersectionality of this subject, the way in which that we may use this struggle to uplift different fights, different voices. For not simply important felony justice reform, entry to well being care … but additionally ensuring we’re creating alternative in a brand new manner, that we’re prioritizing repairing hurt that’s been accomplished even by the state’s personal coverage,” Alexander mentioned.

All proceeds go to Housing Works’ efforts to assist individuals with a historical past of substance abuse, who’ve been homeless or who’ve been incarcerated, particularly for weed possession.

The authorized web site, which previously housed a Hole retailer on the nook of Broadway and Astor Place, will likely be known as the Housing Works Hashish Co. and can provide a wide range of adult-use cannabis products grown and processed by minority-run farms and companies within the Empire State.

The dispensary will provide smokable weed, generally known as flower, in addition to pre-rolled joints, tinctures, concentrates and edibles, with an emphasis on social fairness and minority-, women- and LGBTQ-led manufacturers. Common retailer hours will likely be 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days per week, and can increase within the coming months.

The group was one in every of eight nonprofits to obtain a Conditional Grownup-Use Retail Dispensary license in November, permitting for leisure pot gross sales after the 2021 Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act legalized the production, distribution, and use of marijuana for New Yorkers 21 and older.

Charles King, CEO and a founding father of Housing Works, says the group’s “first declare to fame” was that it was the nation’s first supportive housing program with out regard to be used of medicine or alcohol within the privateness of individuals’s personal properties.

“Now we have seen firsthand the ravages of the battle on medicine on individuals who use medicine, significantly probably the most marginalized individuals, low-income individuals, and it’s no accident that disproportionately people who find themselves incarcerated for possession and sale of medicine are people who find themselves Black, Latino or Latina.”

“We imagine in protected provide. We imagine in full decriminalization. We imagine that individuals ought to have the ability to be allowed to stay their lives.”

The law made it so nonprofits and those most impacted by the enforcement of past pot laws could be on the entrance of the road for retail and different cannabis-related licenses in an try to make sure bigger, multistate operators didn’t flood the market as they’ve in different states the place weed is authorized.

“Not solely have we ended the prohibition in New York, however we’re exhibiting the nation, and the world, find out how to construct a market that’s really equitable and inclusive, and works to undo the harms attributable to the disproportionate enforcement of hashish prohibition,” mentioned Alexander.

“Each greenback spent on this rising trade will assist assist impartial companies, our faculties, and our communities.”

Housing Works, which presently operates a dozen thrift shops and a famed SoHo bookstore in addition to operating companies for the homeless and people with HIV/AIDS, was granted one of many first retail licenses issued underneath the state’s Seeding Alternative Initiative.

All income generated from dispensary gross sales will likely be directed again to the group’s mum or dad group, which gives job alternatives, authorized advocacy and housing and well being companies. Housing Works runs a dozen supportive housing websites and homeless shelters in addition to practically 300 “scatter web site” flats throughout the 5 boroughs.

A second New York Metropolis-based homeless companies supplier, the Doe Fund, additionally obtained one of many retail licenses issued final month and is planning a storefront dispensary in decrease Manhattan.