Buying legal weed in New York: Here’s everything you need to know

Cayla Bamberger, Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News
Updated ·5 min read
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NYC’s first legal dispensaries are slowly rolling out: On Wednesday, the latest dispensary in NYC opened its doors, bringing the city’s total to five legal retail pot shops.

“We can get weed legal now,” said Kay Davis, who traveled from the South Bronx for the opening of the first dispensary, Housing Works Cannabis Company near Astor Place, in December. “We don’t have to duck and dodge when we’re getting high. That’s a beautiful thing for the city.”

Here’s everything you need to know about buying legal pot in New York:

Who can buy weed?

Any adult, 21 or over.

Do I need a medical card?

No medical card is needed at adult-use recreational dispensaries.

How many dispensaries are open?

For now, five.

Here are your options:

Dazed Cannabis Dispensary, the latest shop in NYC, is located at 33 Union Square in Manhattan. It’s owner, an East Harlem native with a cannabis conviction, also owns a weed shop in Massachusetts. They carry chocolate and gummy edibles, flower, vapes, tinctures and pre-rolls. The shop is operating as a pop-up for now.

Good Grades Dispensary, at 162-03 Jamaica Ave, opened in March. As the first female dispensary owner in NYC, Extasy James, 26, is paving the way for women in the budding industry. This shop was is also the first adult-use recreational weed dispensary outside of Manhattan. It’s operating as a pop-up for now, but its permanent space is expected to come soon. Customers can stop in from 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. every day to stock up on a variety of pre-rolls, vapes and edibles.

Union Square Travel Agency: A Cannabis Store, opened in February. It’s doors are open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. most weekdays and until 11 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The 62 East 13th St. shop serves up a range of options for smokable weed, commonly referred to as flower, as well as pre-rolled joints, tinctures, concentrates and edibles. It’s donating just over half of its profits to the DOE Fund, a non-profit that provides various services for people who’ve been homeless or incarcerated.

Smacked LLC, the first dispensary operated someone with a prior conviction, opened in late January. The shop and its owner, Roland Conner, made history with the first licensed marijuana dispensary in New York operated by a person with a cannabis conviction. The shop, 144 Bleecker Street, is open Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Housing Works Cannabis Company opened in December at 750 Broadway in a 4,400 square-feet storefront featuring a white-walled, minimalist feel. Many of the adult-use cannabis products are grown and processed by minority-, women- and LGBTQ-run farms and businesses in the Empire State. Regular store hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, and will expand in the coming months.

Do they take credit cards?

Housing Works and Union Square Travel Agency: A Cannabis Store, accept cash and debit cards — not credit cards.

Is delivery available?

Not yet, but the Housing Works cannabis sales website says delivery is coming soon and you can also shop online for a shipping delivery.

When are more dispensaries opening?

Soon.

Housing Works and Union Square Travel Agency: A Cannabis Store were two of eight nonprofits to receive a Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary license in November, allowing for recreational pot sales after the 2021 Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act legalized the production, distribution, and use of marijuana for New Yorkers 21 and older.

Watch the website of the NY State Office of Cannabis Management for updates.

Can I still buy weed at local shops?

In the absence of licensed dispensaries, a network of shops, trucks and street vendors sprung up around New York as a gray market of illegal weed sales exploded across the city.

The illegal shops have sparked anger and concern in neighborhoods across the five boroughs, including the Upper West Side and Chelsea. Amid the criticism, Mayor Adams and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg announced last week that illegal cannabis shops will face eviction from their landlords if they continue. Around 400 shops, just in Manhattan, have been sent notices. The New York City Sheriff’s Office and other agencies also seized 600 pounds of weed and issued 500 civil summonses and 66 criminal summonses to dealers selling unregulated pot as part of an earlier crackdown effort.

It’s unclear whether the eventual increase of licensed dispensaries will force illegal sellers out of business — or whether two systems will exist side-by-side. A key factor will be in how aggressive local authorities are at shutting down unlicensed weed sales.

How will I know the difference?

The NY State Office of Cannabis Management will issue official seals to licensed dispensaries that can be displayed for consumers. The seal will include a QR code that can be scanned to authenticate the location.

So, can I buy as much as I want?

You can legally possess up to 3 ounces of cannabis and 24 grams of cannabis concentrate, which includes edibles and oils. You can’t take it across state lines, though.

Can you get busted for driving high?

Even though there is no set limit for marijuana use as there is for alcohol, you can get tagged with a DUI if you are found to be impaired under the influence of marijuana. It is also illegal in New York to smoke marijuana while driving — or riding — in a car.