The cannabis business continues its battle with the law in New York

In recent years, the cannabis has become one of the hallmarks of the State of NYwhere the legalization of this drug led to its mass commercialization and the development of a policy closely related to the social reintegration of disadvantaged groups.

Since March 2021, cannabis consumption is allowed for adults over 21 years of age, and therefore having a store is also legal, as long as the necessary requirements to obtain a license are met.

Prices—which always include a $1,000 nonrefundable fee—vary depending on the type of license (for example, opening a retail dispensary costs $7,000), and permit approval takes longer than it might seem.

A drug linked to disadvantaged groups

Before its legalization, the people who were most affected by having or selling marijuana were black and Hispanic: “(These people) bought and used cannabis as much as white communities, but they were not arrested at the same rate“, explains to EFE a spokesperson for the State Cannabis Office (CMOin English) who prefers not to give his name.

In this sense, of the 1,485 arrests made in 2020 for possession or sale of cannabis, 898 were black people, 467 Hispanic, 64 Asian, 49 white and 7 of other ethnicities, according to official data.

Therefore, the New York State government, through the CAURD program, granted the first 463 provisional retail licenses to entities run by people with previous convictions related to this drug.

“One thing New York wasn’t going to do was start a billion dollar industry and not have these people running it.“says the representative of CMO.

In this way, a few years after being arrested for possession of this drug, the Dominican Jose Polanco He fulfilled his dream and opened ‘Polanco Brothers‘, a cannabis store located in front of Bryant Park, in the heart of Manhattan.

“For the Hispanic community this store is important, because we show that we can do great business away from crime.“, one of the partners tells EFE, Pedro Antoniowhich you receive surrounded by display cases full of gummies, creams, blueberry-flavored cannabis and even tea.

In contrast to the old tobacco store that he now replaces and that gathered New York elites inside – celebrities such as Robert Downey Jr. frequently went there -, Antonio expresses his wish that ‘Polanco Brothers‘becomes a reference place for the popular classes.

A business that avoids legality

The slow process of processing licenses has led many sellers to avoid the law: it is estimated that more than 2,000 stores in the State are illegal, compared to the 180 stores that are regulated by the New York Government.

The clerk at a small store in Manhattan, which does not appear in the catalog of dispensaries published by the government – although she assures that it is completely legal – explains that the establishment was forced to open without a license due to the delay in processing its permit. .

The woman mentions the closure of illegal establishments that has been taking place in the city for a few weeks, where the Mayor’s Office of New York began an operation to put an end to them on May 7: since then a total of 75 have been closed.

In a recent report, the New York government sharply criticized the ineffectiveness of the Bureau of Cannabis, noting that as of April, more than 1,200 people who applied for a license in November were still waiting to be tested.

He cannabis has firmly adhered to the city’s culture and is now part of the daily lives of New Yorkers, who are usually seen with a joint between their fingers rain, shine or shine, and whether it is day, night or first thing in the morning,

Its consumption is so widespread that the mayor of New York himself, asked one day about the persistent smell of garbage in the summer months, denied it and said: “The first thing I smell right now is marijuana. It seems like everyone is smoking a joint“, and he started to laugh.