First New York dispensary to open in Manhattan before the New Year

New Yorkers are set to legally buy marijuana at a lower Manhattan dispensary before the New Year.

On Dec. 29, the first dispensary to open under the state’s conditional licensing will be Housing Works, a New York City-based nonprofit that focuses on HIV/AIDS and homelessness, state officials announced Wednesday.

The selection is meant to jumpstart the budding industry by prioritizing people most affected by harsh drug laws against cannabis. Low-income communities of color have been disparately targeted in marijuana arrests in New York.

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"It signifies some sort of redemption for the people who have been marginalized by drug use or even cannabis in the past,” Sasha Nutgent, the retail manager of Housing Works Cannabis Co., told the USA TODAY Network New York on Wednesday.

Housing Works — with its storefront at 750 Broadway in the East Village — is one of 36 recipients of Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses to sell cannabis to adults ages 21 and older. These include 28 qualifying business and eight nonprofits as the first to enter the industry.

On Dec. 29, Housing Works' dispensary is set to have flower cannabis, edibles, vaporizers and tinctures, cannabis-infused liquids placed below the tongue, Nutgent said.

In January, the dispensary will start deliveries, she added. The Office of Cannabis Management, the state agency regulating the industry, recently issued guidance for CAURD licensees to deliver products.

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Housing Works is the first dispensary to be operational, said Trivette Knowles, a cannabis management office spokesperson.

"The industry will continue to grow from here, creating inclusive opportunity in every corner of New York state with revenues directed to our schools and revitalizing communities," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement announcing Housing Works' opening.

The first cannabis products sold will come from the state's Seeding Opportunity Initiative, which licensed 280 New York farmers to cultivate crops for CAURD recipients.

In total, 175 CAURD licenses — 150 to individual applicants and 25 to nonprofits — are projected to be spread across 14 designated state regions.

To qualify for CAURD, applicants must show they had a marijuana-related conviction in New York State before former Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Marijuana Regulation and Tax Act into law on March 31, 2021. People who are related, married or their legal guardians could also apply for the license.

In addition, applicants need experience owning and operating a business that was profitable for at least two years. Nonprofits serving justice-involved people and communities could also apply, though they have to show the organization has been profitable and members of communities they serve are part of their board.

Housing Works met the requirements.

Cannabis Management Director Chris Alexander touted the state’s supply chain from farmers to CAURD recipients. It creates a market that’s inclusive and equitable, he said in a statement.

“Every dollar spent in this growing industry will help support independent businesses, our schools, and our communities," he said.

But across the state’s 14 regions where CAURDs will be issued, five have been under a preliminary injunction since November, in a federal court case that deals with the U.S. Constitution’s dormant commerce clause. Manhattan — where Housing Works’ dispensary is located — is excluded.

Variscite NY One Inc., a company with majority ownership by a Michigan man that sought to apply for CAURD, has said that the state program unduly restricted interstate commerce by giving preference to New York residents. The U.S. District Court for New York’s northern district issued the temporary halt, court filings said, in the five regions where Variscite applied: Brooklyn, Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mid-Hudson and Western New York.

On Dec. 8, the Office of Cannabis Management filed a motion to appeal the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals’ Second Circuit in New York City.

When Housing Works' dispensary opens, Nutgent, its retail manager, hopes she teaches staff to learn and open their own in the future. She also wants "an elevated approach," for consumers to understand benefits for cannabis, going beyond stereotypes on the plant and its users.

"We're taking an educational approach as well," Nutgent said.

Eduardo Cuevas covers race and justice for the USA TODAY Network of New York. He can be reached at EMCuevas1@gannett.com and followed on Twitter @eduardomcuevas.

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: First New York cannabis dispensary to open in Manhattan Dec. 29