It used to be that a marijuana conviction in New York City stood in the way of business opportunities.
But under New York law, a marijuana charge against you or a relative is a qualification for a license to sell legal weed.
So Roland Conner is selling weed legally, in a business started with his son, Darius, 25. Theirs is the first licensed marijuana dispensary in New York operated by a person with a cannabis conviction.
“I think everybody deserves a chance,” Conner, owner of Smacked, the second marijuana dispensary to open in the state, said before the doors on his Greenwich Village shop opened Tuesday morning.
“You do your time, you come home and you should be able to get a job,” Conner said. “And they should not hold that against you.”
Conner and his family didn’t want to get into details about his conviction. Suffice to say that the entrepreneur is moving on.
Dozens of customers lined up for a chance to light up legally. Among them was Cathy Williams 59, of Jackson Heights. Williams said she has lived in New York for 20 years, which is half as much time as she has been smoking pot.
“I’ve been smoking marijuana for 40 years,” Williams said. ”I’ve been to Colorado and California to buy marijuana … I’m excited. It’s finally here.”
Williams said it’s a weed buying bonus to be copping cannabis from Conner.
“I heard about this family, and how the father had run-ins with the law for selling marijuana,” Williams said. “So I wanted to come and offer them my business.
“I was going to wait to come down here but I just had to come because I really do hope these social equity licenses help people that have been negatively impacted by marijuana laws.”
Smacked offers an array of cannabis products, including flower, tinctures, edibles and weed-infused sparkling water. The Bleecker St. storefront will operate in a “pop-up” capacity for its first month before undergoing a full renovation.
Dan, 52, a customer from Manhattan, said legal weed is liberating.
“It’s like walking into a bar and I feel safe,” he said. “There’s security guards and cops and everything is above ground.
“It feels like I’m not doing anything I’m not supposed to be doing. It’s good vibes and the management has been great and it’s been a smooth process.”
Another dispensary just blocks away, Housing Works Cannabis Company, was the state’s first licensed marijuana business. The Housing Works store opened under a provision in the law allowing dispensaries to be operated by non-profits whose services include providing support for the formerly incarcerated.
Conner’s wife said her husband and their son decided to get into the business after they learned their son was selling weed illegally.
“My husband was upset,” said Patricia Conner. “He didn’t want our son to go through the same pattern that he went through. My husband was arrested for selling drugs so he did not want our son selling.
“So we got wind that it was becoming legal in New York City, and we had our son ask and find out how he could do it legally because we wanted to break the cycle. And he rose to the occasion.”
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