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Since Thursday, it has been perfectly legal to buy cannabis in official stores in New York State: the very first business approved by the authorities has opened in the heart of Manhattan.
A hundred people crowded into the trendy boutique-like premises of the Housing Works association, a non-profit organization, the first to have opened under a license from the State of New York, out of 36 authorizations issued since the 21 November.
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“The first legal sale of cannabis for adults represents a historic milestone for the cannabis industry in New York,” said the Democratic Governor of the fourth state of the United States, Kathy Hochul. “Today is just the beginning and I look forward to continuing our efforts to make [l’Etat de] New York a national model for the safe, fair and inclusive sector we are building,” she added.
Former convicts
New York State wants to grant the first 150 licenses to traders who have been convicted in the past for possessing or selling cannabis. The goal is to redress what he now sees as the unfair and disproportionate impact of decades of “marijuana” prohibition, the criminalization of which he believes has particularly targeted the African-American and Hispanic communities.
Read also: US: Joe Biden overturns all federal cannabis possession convictions
Even the fiery mayor of the New York megalopolis Eric Adams, a former police officer, acknowledged in a statement that “the legal cannabis market could be a real boon for New York’s economic recovery. […] through increased tax revenue.
For more than a year, it has been legal for an adult over the age of 21 to consume cannabis in New York State. New York City Hall is counting on $1.3 billion in sales by 2023 and 19,000 to 24,000 job creations in three years.
Read also: Geneva will also have its legal cannabis
