Since Thursday it has been legal to buy cannabis in the official shops of the State of New York: the first activity approved by the authorities has been opened in the heart of Manhattan.
More than a hundred have packed into the trendy boutique premises of Housing Works, a non-profit organization, the first to open under license from New York State, out of 36 permits issued since Nov. 21.
“The first sale of legal adult cannabis represents a historic milestone for the cannabis industry in New York,” said Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The leader said in a statement, “Today is just the beginning and I look forward to continuing our efforts to make New York a national model for industry that is safe, fair, and for as many people as possible. We are building”.
Former drug offenders
Behind this first official shop is the Housing Works association, which helps HIV-positive people, ex-convicts and the homeless.
The giant state of New York wants to grant the first 150 licenses to merchants who have been convicted in the past for possessing or selling cannabis.
The goal: to repair what it now sees as the unjust and disproportionate impact of decades of prohibition of “marijuana,” the criminalization of which it believes has particularly affected African-American and Hispanic communities.
“Missed penalty”
In the shop, during a press presentation, local New York State Senator Liz Krueger, who led the project to legalize this trade, said she was “honored to participate in the launch of adult cannabis retail”.
He welcomed cooperation between the authorities and Housing Works for “marginalized communities” which have been “hardest hit by the failure of past policies to criminalize cannabis”.
Even the fiery mayor of the megalopolis of New York, Eric Adams, a former police officer, acknowledged in a statement that “the legal cannabis market could be a boon to New York’s economic recovery. […] increasing tax revenue.
In a cheering atmosphere and applause, Charles King, founder of Housing Works in 1990, said he “looks forward to reinvesting profits to provide essential services to tens of thousands of New Yorkers in need.”
Around him, Manhattan Borough Mayor Mark Levine and New York State Cannabis Management Office Director Chris Alexander bought, moved, cannabis-containing products: dried plants, e-cigarettes or gummies.
For more than a year, it has been legal for an adult over the age of 21 to consume cannabis in New York State, and in its flagship city, the smell of weed has invaded the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn. .
City is counting on $1.3 billion in sales from 2023 and 19,000 to 24,000 jobs created in three years.
