NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Queens will see its first recreational cannabis dispensary open later this week, and it’ll be the first woman-owned one supported by the state’s social equity investment fund, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday.
The announcement comes weeks after the state declared it was doubling the number of conditional adult-use retail dispensary licenses, from 150 to 300, thanks to a first-in-the-nation program that provides renovated retail locations to entrepreneurs previously criminalized by cannabis prohibition.
The Queens dispensary, called Good Grades, will open this Thursday at 2 p.m. at 162-03 Jamaica Ave. Hochul announced that it is a woman-owned family business run by Extasy James and her cousin, Michael James, Jr., a Jamaica, Queens native and lawyer.
The dispensary will open as a “pop-up.” According to the state, this will provide licensees the opportunity to open on a short-term basis to fast-track sales, provide training for employees, and start generating capital for their businesses.
They will then close for final construction and reopen on a long-term basis.
Extasy James said she’s thrilled to be opening not just the first woman-owned dispensary under the state program, but the first one in Queens.
“We are incredibly passionate about providing greater access to cannabis and breaking down the barriers that prevent so many people, especially those from marginalized communities, from experiencing the benefits of this amazing plant,” James said in a statement.
“With the opening of Good Grades in Queens, we're continuing to build on our progress to create a safe, regulated cannabis industry in New York,” Hochul said. “New York is working to support entrepreneurs and ensure that consumers can purchase safe, legal products while supporting their communities.”
According to the state, the opening of these dispensaries helps advance New York’s goals of equity in cannabis licensing that prioritizes providing licenses to people with cannabis convictions or close relatives of someone with one.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. said, “What was once a tool used to target communities of color is finally a crucial, and legal, piece of our economic puzzle that will create jobs, wealth and opportunity in those same communities.”
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