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Marijuana might not be legal in New York quite yet, but Big Cannabis is already setting up shop in the city.
On Friday, April 20—a day celebrated by pot lovers around the world—a shiny new medical marijuana dispensary will open in midtown. The outpost is the latest branch from MedMen, a Los Angeles–based cannabis company that’s entering the Empire State in a big way. It will be one of three dispensaries legally permitted to operate in Manhattan, and its other franchises have been dubbed the Apple Stores of retail weed.
The new space is located at 433 Fifth Avenue (at 39th Street) and contains 2,000 square feet of space to facilitate the slinging sticky icky ephemeray like tinctures, gel caps, vape pens to qualifying patients (they won't sell actual unprocessed flower, per state law). In a press release, representatives from the company called the dispensary a “best-in-class, premium cannabis shopping experience.”
MedMen has laid out a major stake in the cannabis industry as more states have moved to legalize the drug. The company also has retail locations across California and Las Vegas as well as Long Island, Syracuse and Buffalo. It also has a cultivation and production facility in Utica.
The company says that it’s the first billion dollar–valued cannabis company in the country, which, if true, would make it a proverbial unicorn. While cannabis is not yet legal for recreational use in New York, MedMen’s new Manhattan location is more of a statement than anything. According to the New York Department of Health, there are currently roughly 51,000 certified for medical marijuana statewide. And while that’s not quite enough to sustain a fancy new midtown retail space, the company has put itself in a position to prosper if the devil's lettuce is legalized in New York.
Photograph: Courtesy Joe Schildhorn/BFA.com
Photograph: Courtesy Joe Schildhorn/BFA.com
Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect MedMen's accurate size and offerings.
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