Second Legal Dispensary Opens Tuesday in Union Square
The dispensary will be the state’s first to open owned by a New Yorker “with a cannabis conviction or a close relative of someone with one” The second legal dispensary opens in New York City on Tuesday, and the governor says its the first pot shop run by someone “previously criminalized by cannabis prohibition. “The 144 Blecker Street location of Smacked LLC is set to open the following week after a nearly month-long “soft” opening in Greenwich Village. Doors should open at 10:00 a.m. The first legal dispensary opened last month off Broadway in Manhattan after three dozen businesses received the first round of marijuana retail licenses. For the first round of licenses, New York only granted some nonprofit organizations and applicants with prior marijuana convictions or their relatives. With the assistance of the Bronx Cannabis Hub and the New York Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund, Roland Conner is launching Smacked LLC with his wife and son.. “I am so excited to become a part of history as the first individual to open a legal cannabis dispensary in New York City. Given my experience with cannabis, I never could have imagined that I would be opening a store like this,” Conner said in a statement. “But this is not just about me and my family. This is about everyone who was harmed by the draconian drug laws of the past. New York’s commitment to righting those wrongs through the law is inspiring. I am proof of that commitment because I’m standing here today,” he added. Conner’s shop opening is part of the state’s “Pop-up” program to help stores receive an initial capital boost before a permanent opening down the road. “As with some other initial dispensaries to be supported by the Fund, this will provide licensees the opportunity to open on a short-term basis to fast-track sales and start generating capital for their businesses, after which they will close for final construction and then re-open on a long-term basis,” the governor’s office said Thursday.
A Sharp Increase in Reports of Young Children Sickened by Edibles with More Legal Weed On the corner of Broadway and Astor Place, the first recreational marijuana dispensary in New York opened its doors on December 28. It signaled the long-awaited start of one of the nation’s most lucrative marijuana industries. And there will be more. Another dispensary called “Union Square Travel Agency” has an opening date set. It will debut in a former Chase Bank building close to the Union Square subway stop. On February 13th, a soft opening is scheduled. The Doe Fund, which offers housing, career training, and counseling to marginalized people living in NYC, will receive 51% of the proceeds. In March 2021, marijuana use for recreational purposes became legal in New York.