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First legal cannabis dispensary opens in New York

A pedestrian walks by the Housing Works Cannabis Co. on the first day of legal recreational marijuana sales in New York City on Thursday. The official dispensary opening at 4:20 p.m., at which time anyone age 21 and older can enter to purchase recreational cannabis products. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
A pedestrian walks by the Housing Works Cannabis Co. on the first day of legal recreational marijuana sales in New York City on Thursday. The official dispensary opening at 4:20 p.m., at which time anyone age 21 and older can enter to purchase recreational cannabis products. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 29 (UPI) -- New York's first cannabis dispensary opened Thursday, allowing adults age 21 and older to legally buy recreational marijuana.

The dispensary is run by the Housing Works Cannabis Co., an arm of the Housing Works nonprofit known for serving homeless and low-income people with HIV/AIDS.

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All proceeds from their dispensary sales will go to their parent organization, which was founded in 1990 to address HIV/AIDs and homelessness.

The dispensary will offer "everything from wrapped to pre-wrapped ... edibles, just a full array at different price points," Housing Works CEO Charles King told CBS News New York on Wednesday. "Tomorrow, we expect a very long line down the block, but after that we'll be able to serve people pretty expeditiously."

King said the business will attempt to help people who have suffered from the war on drugs.

"We serve overwhelmingly a population that has been criminalized by the war on drugs and we felt it was appropriate for us to be able to not only sell cannabis, but use that as an opportunity to hire and employ people who've been just as involved due to use and possession of cannabis," King said.

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Housing Works is the first of 36 licensed retail dispensaries to open its doors. In the coming months, the New York State Cannabis Control Board is expected to issue 139 more licenses.

One worker at Housing Works Cannabis Co., Sasha Nutgent, told ABC7 ahead of their launch, "It's extremely exciting and nerve-wracking because we are cutting it close. But we're getting it open on time."

Demand is high for their grand opening.

"We have an RSVP list that will not stop growing," Nutgent said.

New York's first legal cannabis dispensary opens

A man wears a "I Love NY" sweatshirt with marijuana filling the shape of a heart outside of the Housing Works Cannabis Co. on the first day of legal recreational marijuana sales in New York City on December, 29, 2022. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

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