Posted 7 Feb. 2023 at 7:08Updated Feb 7. 2023 at 8:32
The scene has been repeated every day since December 29. From 11 a.m., dozens of people of all ages and styles lined up quietly under the scaffolding of a building in Astor Place, south of Manhattan. “On weekends, the line can go around the block. But the people are cool and patient,” says the employee in charge of controlling the age of customers.
If the store located at 750 Broadway attracts so many people, it is because it is the first authorized to sell cannabis in the State of New York, completely legally and in all its forms: in flowers, in joints pre-rolled, vape cartridges or chewing gum containing THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the main psychoactive substance in cannabis. The charity that operates this “dispensary” – the term used for shops selling marijuana and its derivatives -, Housing Works, obtained one of the first 36 licenses granted by the State of New York last November. “On opening day, we made 500 sales in three hours, and 1,500 people could not be served,” Charles King, CEO of Housing Works, told “Echoes”. With this store alone, we are on track to reach $100 million in sales in the first year. »
