For the first time, residents of New York can legally purchase recreational marijuana at a government-approved retail outlet. The store is run by an organization that helps the homeless, among other things. They want to use the proceeds to continue financing their projects.
New York residents have been able to legally buy recreational cannabis since Thursday. The first retail outlet approved by the authorities opened in Manhattan. New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke of a "milestone for the cannabis industry" in the US state.
The store, run by the NGO Housing Works, is using one of 36 licenses that have been issued in New York since late November. The non-profit organization is committed to helping people with AIDS, former prisoners and the homeless. Proceeds from cannabis sales will be used to provide housing and medical care to tens of thousands of needy people in New York, Housing Works founder Charles King announced.
The New York Parliament cleared the way for legally available cannabis in March 2021 after a long dispute and gave certain groups priority in the granting of licenses. According to the civil rights organization ACLU in 2019, black New Yorkers were arrested for weed 4.5 times more often than white New Yorkers, despite the same consumption.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement Thursday it was "a new chapter for all those most harmed by past failed policies." At the same time, non-licensed dealers are increasingly being phased out. A legal gray area emerged when the law was passed last year, and unregulated sales had increased sharply within a few months.
A lot of money is also at stake for New York: The state with a good 20 million inhabitants expects a multi-billion dollar cannabis industry and annual tax revenues of hundreds of millions of US dollars in the coming years.
