NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- New York state’s first legal dispensary for recreational cannabis opened Thursday in Manhattan, with the first sale to the public planned for 4:20 p.m.
Weed sales to adults 21 and older will take place at Housing Works Cannabis Company at 750 Broadway, at E. 8th Street in Greenwich Village. The 4:20 sale time is a nod to cannabis culture.
The dispensary will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is currently cash only. The initial products will be limited with additional offerings added in the weeks ahead, the nonprofit said. Edibles will reportedly start at $20, while cannabis flower will run between $40 and $95.
Housing Works is a minority-controlled nonprofit that serves people with HIV and AIDS, as well as homeless people and the formerly incarcerated.
The nonprofit is among the first of 36 recently licensed dispensaries to begin selling cannabis to the public, and it is one of eight nonprofits among the initial licensees. Opening dates for the other locations are set to be announced soon.
Charles King, the CEO of Housing Works, told 1010 WINS that the shop received more than 1,000 RSVPs for Thursday’s grand opening. It will sell six brands to start but hopes to have several dozen more brands before the end of February.
King said the nonprofit is “thrilled” to be the historic first legal shop in the state following generations of prohibition.
“Be assured we have plenty of supply, so we can get you through the weekend,” he said.
The first retail sales come nearly two years after New York legalized recreational use of cannabis for adults in March 2021. The state is expected to become one of the most lucrative legal pot markets in the U.S.
“We’re expecting lines, because there’s a demand,” said Aaron Ghitelman, the deputy director of communications for the state’s Office of Cannabis Management.
“New Yorkers are excited,” Ghitelman said. “This is high quality, New York grown cannabis. This is tested product. We know where it came from. We know who grew it.”
In the coming months, the state is set to issue an additional 139 licenses, with about 900 applicants waiting.
The state reserved its first round of retail licenses for applicants with weed convictions or their relatives, plus some nonprofit groups. It also planned a $200 million public-private fund to aid “social equity” applicants.
While the first legal sales begin this week, dozens of illegal shops have been in operation across the city for many months.
The city and state have vowed to crack down on the illegal shops as the legal market launches, saying their products are untaxed and untested.
Mayor Eric Adams released a statement Thursday applauding the grand opening, calling it a “major milestone in our efforts to create the most equitable cannabis industry in the nation.”
“The opening of the first legal dispensary in our state right here in New York City is more than just a promising step for this budding industry,” the mayor said, “it represents a new chapter for those most harmed by the failed policies of the past.”
“The legal cannabis market has the potential to be a major boon to New York’s economic recovery — creating new jobs, building wealth in historically underserved communities, and increasing state and local tax revenue,” Adams said, adding that the city will continue to “educate unlicensed operators about the law and hold bad actors accountable.”
Over a two-week period in New York City in December, a task force made up of the NYC Sheriff’s Office, NYPD and other city and state agencies seized more than 100,000 illegal products with an estimated retail value of more than $4 million, the mayor’s office said.
New Jersey and Connecticut have also legalized recreational cannabis for adults. Sales began in New Jersey in April 2022 and are set to begin in Connecticut in January 2023.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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