How do you like your cannabis?
By Andrew Harris, picture from NYS Office of Cannabis Management
On December 31, the first legal cannabis dispensary in New York opened for business. While that isolated official start of a whole new marketplace was largely required by the law, the floodgates are about to be opened.
Since the state passed the law, the Marihuana Regulation & Taxation Act, New York State has been awash in cannabis. Most towns and counties have a illegal dispensary already operating nearby and all Native American Reservations in the state have multiple outlets. Backyard gardens are no longer hidden, even though it is still not legal to cultivate cannabis at home. That “homegrow” provision will become legal/official at the state’s leisure, anytime before July 1st, 2024, or within 18 months of the first legal sale.
75% of Americans believe that cannabis should be legally available and about 20% of Americans regularly consume the plant in one form or another. In August of 2022, data was released which indicates that Americans who smoke cannabis now out number those who smoke tobacco.
With one in five readers statistically in the club, and likely many more due to the enduring stigma, we ask: How do you prefer to enjoy cannabis?
As the market evolves, so do the product options and innovations. While many still just like to smoke, edibles have become much more than just brownies(please stop making them look like candy.) Concentrates like wax, shatter, or glass are basically finely tuned hashish, and are very popular among new generations. Of course vaping is still quite popular although the health concerns and new regulations have reduced some of that demand.
Let’s not forget about the folks that really don’t like this conversation. A stigma still exists in many parts of our society that cannabis leads to drug use, or laziness, or worse. If you are sick of the smiley, hungry, relaxed, and paranoid “potheads,” you get a vote too!!
Are you planning on jumping into the NYS cannabis industry? Send us a note, we’d love to hear more about the plan and monitor the new industry in WNY.
Thanks for reading and voting. A big thanks to Hart’s Jewelry for sponsoring our weekly poll questions!! Check out their new website— > HartsJewelry.com