A lot of marijuana has been sold in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood over the years, but Thursday was the first time it was sold legally in a store.
– I paid 120 dollars, and it was expensive. But it smells absolutely fantastic, says Lionel Smith. He was among the first in the queue, which stretched around the quarter.
New York legalized marijuana for private use in March 2021, but it has taken almost two years for the first marijuana outlets to open.
The venue belongs to the charity Housing Works, which was founded in 1990 to help homeless people in New York with AIDS.
Chris Alexander, the head of the newly created Office of Cannabis Management, was given the honor of making the first purchase. His office now assists 900 applicants who want to sell marijuana in New York.
– We have a lot of work to do, and many who want to open, he told the journalists present.
FIRST: The head of New York’s new marijuana office became the first to legally buy marijuana in the big city. Photo: Bebeto Matthews
Change in drug policy
In 2012, Washington and Colorado became the first two states to legalize marijuana for private use. Ten years later is now legal in 21 states as well as the capital Washington, DC. If you include states where marijuana is legal for medical use, you end up at 37 out of 50.
In 10 short years, there has been an earthquake in American drug policy. Today, six out of ten Americans say they believe marijuana should be legal for private use.
QUEUES: Not everyone who wanted to was able to buy on the opening day. When the doors closed at 7pm there were still people queuing. Photo: KENA BETANCUR
– I think people realize that the war on drugs has not worked and that marijuana does not lead to more dangerous drugs. It has medicinal purposes as well. It helps you sleep, that’s why I take it. It helps with anxiety and I would rather take it than pills from a pharmaceutical company, says JJ, who does not want to give his last name.
A role model for the rest of the United States
As New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams were busy dealing with the aftermath of the blizzard that has hit the state over the past week, it was Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine who got to bask in the glory of the opening.
He has been a campaigner for New York to rethink drug policy.
THE PUBLIC OPINION: In just 10 years, the United States has gone from none to 21 states that have legalized marijuana, and opinion polls show that most Americans want it to be legal. Photo: EDUARDO MUNOZ
– It is quite clear that banning marijuana was a failed strategy, which ended up sending many with a minority background to prison. And it did nothing to stop the large scale of the use of marijuana, says Levine to TV2.
He says the plan is for many of the upcoming stores that will sell marijuana in New York to be run by people who have previously been arrested for marijuana possession to make up for what Levine believes was an unfair drug policy.
– This is going to be a model for the rest of the country, and the start of a new era for New York, says Levine to TV2.
NEW DIRECTION: Manhattan borough president Mark Levin is convinced that New York needs a new drug policy. Photo: MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO
