New York’s stated goal is to issue the first 150 licenses to merchants convicted of selling marijuana.
New York:
New York’s first legal recreational marijuana dispensary opened Thursday in midtown Manhattan. More than 100 people packed into the dispensary in New York City’s East Village, run by the nonprofit Housing Works, a group dedicated to fighting homelessness and AIDS.
Governor Kathy Hochul, who oversees the fourth most populous US state, said: “The first legal adult sale of cannabis marks a historic milestone in the New York cannabis industry. York.
Hochul said in a statement that she hopes New York will serve “as a national model for the safe, fair and inclusive industry we are currently building.”
Ex-felons get their first license
The Housing Works was one of the first 36 groups or individuals to be granted a retail marijuana license on November 21.
New York’s stated goal is to issue the first 150 licenses to traffickers convicted in the past for possessing or selling marijuana.
The goal is to correct what Hochul describes as the unfair and disproportionate impact of decades of marijuana prohibition, which has affected African-American and Hispanic communities.
Her statement said tax revenue from cannabis dispensaries would “be invested in communities across the state to support public schools, addiction services, mental health services, housing and other community-based programs”.
Housing Works’ Cannabis Station is in a prime location — on Broadway, just north of Astor Place.
Inside the store, speaking to reporters, New York state senator Liz Krueger said she hopes the expansion of legal marijuana dispensaries will help “those most affected by the policies.” the criminalization of marijuana has failed in the past.”
‘A real boon’
Even tough Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, nodded in favor of the economic benefits of dispensaries, saying that “the legal cannabis market can be a real boon to the rehabilitation of the people.” New York’s economic recovery… through increased tax revenue.”
In a festive atmosphere at the store, Charles King, founder of Housing Works, said he was “eager to reinvest profits to provide essential services to tens of thousands of New Yorkers in need”.
Manhattan District President Mark Levine attended the opening ceremony and expressed his views on buying cannabis products – including jelly seeds.
For more than a year, it’s been legal for adults over the age of 21 to consume marijuana in New York state, and in the state’s flagship city, the smell of marijuana fills the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
City Hall projects $1.3 billion in revenue in 2023 and 19,000 to 24,000 new jobs over three years.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the aggregate feed.)
Featured video of the day
Prime Minister Modi performs his mother’s last rites in Gandhinagar
