By Dan Fastenberg
NEWYORKDecember 29 – New York’s first licensed marijuana store opened to the public on Thursday, more than a year after the state legalized the drug and amid delays in establishing the legal marketplace to benefit people previously convicted of marijuana-related crimes. marijuana.
The dispensary was opened in New York’s East Village by Housing Works, a non-profit organization fighting homelessness and AIDS. The non-profit organization was one of the first 36 groups or individuals granted a permit to retail marijuana by the state last month.
“We are prioritizing the remediation of damages, including damages caused by the state’s own policies,” Chris Alexander, general manager of the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, said in a massive press conference held at the store.
“It is no coincidence that people incarcerated for drug possession and sale are disproportionately Black and Latino people.”
Legalizing marijuana in March 2021, New York lawmakers required that it be sold only by licensed dealers to adults age 21 and older, with the first licenses granted to entrepreneurs with prior marijuana-related arrests or convictions, so offers them an edge over corporate retailers in this lucrative market.
Dealers will only be able to sell marijuana grown and processed by licensed New York growers.
New York initially promised it would find ready-to-open premises and business loans for early license holders, and that nonprofit groups that work with formerly incarcerated people, such as Housing Works, would be eligible for some licenses. But the process took longer than expected.
Meanwhile, a gray market has flourished with unauthorized vendors selling cannabis illegally from shops and vans all over New York City.
Marijuana sales in New York will be taxed at 13.5%, revenue going to schools, public housing, drug services and mental health services.
Peggy Pliscott, a 50-year-old East Village hairstylist, celebrated the dispensary’s arrival Thursday.
“People can make a living,” he said. “People can buy what they need legally. We all seem to win.”
