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First legal recreational marijuana shop opens in New York city
New York Marijuana Shops: The stated goal of New York is to grant the first 150 licenses to traders convicted in the past for possession or sale of cannabis.
New York's first legal recreational marijuana dispensary opened on Thursday in the heart of Manhattan.
More than 100 people crowded into the dispensary in New York City's East Village, run by the nonprofit Housing Works, a group dedicated to fighting homelessness and AIDS.
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"The first legal adult-use cannabis sales mark a historic milestone in New York's cannabis industry," said Governor Kathy Hochul, who oversees the fourth most populous US state.
Hochul said in a statement that she expects New York to serve "as a national model for the safe, equitable and inclusive industry we are now building."
Ex-felons get first licenses
Housing Works was among the first of 36 groups or individuals granted a retail marijuana license on November 21.
The stated goal of New York is to grant the first 150 licenses to traders convicted in the past for possession or sale of cannabis.
The goal is to repair what Hochul described as the unfair and disproportionate impact of decades of prohibition of marijuana, which has affected African American and Hispanic communities.
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Tax revenues from the marijuana dispensaries will "be invested in communities across the state to support public schools, addiction services, mental health services, housing and other community-based programs," her statement said.
The Housing Works Cannabis Co. dispensary is at a prime location -- on Broadway Avenue just north of Astor Place.
Inside the shop, speaking to reporters, New York state senator Liz Krueger said she expects the ramp up of legal marijuana dispensaries will help "those most impacted by the failed cannabis criminalization policies of the past."
