New Yorker with past conviction for marijuana use opens second city dispensary Tuesday

The choice of places to buy legal recreational marijuana in New York is expanding as a second dispensary opens in Manhattan.

When Roland Conner’s pharmacy opens on Tuesday morning, he will do so as the first person in the state with a cannabis conviction to legally open a marijuana shop. The doors to 144 Bleecker Street are expected to open at 10:00 am.

Smacked, Conner’s store, opens for a nearly month-long “soft” opening in a former Greenwich Village drugstore.

New York is prioritizing retail licenses for people with previous marijuana convictions. This is seen as an attempt to balance the injustices of the old laws, which often ended with a disproportionate number of convictions for minority defendants.

The first round of marijuana retail licenses has been approved for three dozen businesses, giving way to the first legal pharmacy that opened last month near Broadway, also in Manhattan.

Roland Konner opens Smacked with his wife and son, backed by New York Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund and Bronx Cannabis Hub.

“I am so excited to be a part of history as the first person to open a legal cannabis pharmacy in New York. Given my experience with cannabis, I never imagined opening a store like this,” Conner said. in a statement.

“But it’s not just about me and my family. We are talking about everyone who has suffered under the draconian drug laws of the past. New York’s commitment to righting these wrongs through the law is inspiring. I am proof of that commitment because I am standing here today,” he added.

Conner’s store opening is part of the government’s “Pop Up Window” program to help stores secure initial capital gains before permanent future openings.

“As with some of the other initial dispensaries to be supported by the Fund, this will give licensees the opportunity to open on a short-term basis for accelerated sales and start generating capital for their business, after which they will be closed for final construction and then re-open on a long-term basis. ,” the governor’s office said on Thursday.

The first legal recreational marijuana dispensary in New York City opened on December 28 at the corner of Broadway and Astor Place. This marked the long-awaited launch of what could be one of the most profitable marijuana industries in the country.

And more on the way. A date has been set for the opening of another drugstore called the Union Square Travel Agency. It will open in the old Chase Bank near the Union Square metro station.

Its soft opening is scheduled for February 13. Of the proceeds, 51 percent will go to the Doe Fund, which provides housing, job training and counseling to marginalized people living in New York City.

New York legalized recreational marijuana use in March 2021.

Recreational cannabis sales began this morning at seven dispensaries. Reported by Linda Baquero.