FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (1010 WINS) — The first legal cannabis dispensary on Long Island opened Saturday.
Strain Stars LLC opened on Broadhollow Road near Sherwood Avenue in Farmingdale at noon.
The family-owned dispensary will be run by Kamaldeep Singh, Tushar Mallick, Jasmin Kaur, Kamaldeep Singh, Darminder Sing and Gurmeet Sing.
Kamaldeep Singh obtained a Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary license as a “justice-involved” applicant. The CAURD licensure program prioritized people with cannabis-related criminal records and their family members in an attempt at reparations for the war on drugs. Those who obtain a license this way have been dubbed justice-involved by the state.
Singh has also owned and operated the Whitestone Mart gas station for five years now.
The new 3,500-square-foot storefront is accessible just off of Route 110.
Strain Stars’ opening came two days after the Bronx got its first legal dispensary as well — Statis Cannabis Co.
Angel Turuseta, co-owner of Statis is also a justice-involved license holder. The Bronx Times reported he was arrested for cannabis possession as a youth and went on to own and operate a New York City wholesale vendor for sports and leisure ware.
Statis opened as a pop-up shop Thursday on East Tremont Avenue near Marmion Avenue in Crotona. The owners plan to eventually move to a permanent location near Yankee Stadium.
The new cannabis shops bring the total number of legal dispensaries in New York to 19. The state has issued 300 total CAURD licenses, but many of the stores have not yet opened.
"New York is leading the nation in building a new cannabis industry that advances social justice and provides economic opportunity for those who have been harmed by the inequitable enforcement of cannabis laws," said Gov. Kathy Hochul. "With these new dispensaries opening in New York, we are providing safer product to New Yorkers, while furthering our ambitious goals for equity in New York's cannabis laws."
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