NYC’s First Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries Get Green Light

NEW YORK CITY — New York City’s first (legal) pot shops have cleared a cloud of regulatory smoke.

Thirty-six licensees got the green light Monday to become the first batch of retail dispensaries in the Empire State, according to New York's Office of Cannabis Management.

At least a dozen New York City-based businesses and nonprofits received approval, which paves the way for them to open up shop as soon as the year’s end, records show.

Licenses went to 28 justice-involved individuals (those impacted by cannabis prohibition) and eight nonprofits that serve formerly incarcerated people, officials said.

“Today is a monumental day for New York’s nascent cannabis industry,” said Tremaine Wright, who chairs the state’s Cannabis Control Board.

“We’ve ensured the first sales will be made at dispensaries operated by those impacted by the unjust enforcement of cannabis prohibition.”

A Patch review of licensees identified at least 12 who are New York City-based.

• CGG Enterprises, Inc. - Queens
• The Doe Fund LLC - Manhattan (nonprofit)
• Gotham CAURD LLC - Manhattan
• Housing Works Cannabis LLC - Brooklyn (nonprofit)
• Keep It A 100 LLC - Manhattan
• Kush & Kemet - Queens
• Nube NYC LLC - Brooklyn
• Planet 51 LLC - Manhattan
• SAMJNY Holdings LLC - Staten Island
• Smacked LLC - Bronx
• Royal Leaf NY - Bronx
• Urban Weeds LLC - Queens

Recreational cannabis has technically been legal in New York since 2021, but Monday's license approvals marked the first time state officials gave businesses the go-ahead to sell it.

The delay meant that legal weed has been in a hazy legal area in New York, despite the explosion of pot shops, carts and trucks in the city.

Twitter users celebrated the news with congratulations and just a little exasperation.

"It’s about time!" wrote one Twitter user. Said another, "Awesome news and congratulations to everyone in the big Apple."