Cannabis and Community: How Marijuana Dispensaries Are Shaping Local Life
Art provided by Juliette Robertson ‘25
Throughout the streets of New York City, newly legalized marijuana products fill the windows of smoke shops, openly available for all to see. The shelves brim with an array of vapes, pre-rolled blunts, and a colorful selection of gummy edibles, all accompanied by large neon signs that beckon passersby with their vivid colors and playful fonts.
It’s impossible to ignore the proliferation of these establishments. They seem to pop up everywhere, nestled near schools, residential neighborhoods, hospitals, and beyond, creating a concerning landscape.
New York City was not always this proud of its cannabis market. The so-called “War on Drugs” began in June of 1971 when Richard Nixon declared drug abuse to be “public enemy number one” to the United States of America. Since then, there have been many efforts to slow illegal drug use across the country.
Lately, the drug market has exponentially expanded, with 24 states and the District of Columbia legalizing the recreational use of marijuana as of 2024. In those states, there is a 24 percent increase in marijuana usage, according to CNN.
It’s been four years since The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act passed in New York State, legalizing the possession and consumption of marijuana for adults over the age of 21. The monetary success of marijuana businesses plays a role in this surge of the drug. The New York State Cannabis Advisory Board reported $631.6 million of total retail sales across New York State from January 2023 to September 2024. According to the Advisory Board, this data only applies to legal dispensaries that report their income to the board, while the majority of the street corner dispensaries are not monitored by the Office of Cannabis Management of New York State (OCM).
David Vautrin, the current CEO of RIV Capital, a cannabis acquisition and investment firm, explained the problem with these non-regulated businesses. There are two main categories of cannabis dispensaries: the legal ones and the illicit ones.
All legal smoke shops go through the process of being regulated by the OCM, The OCM ensures that all legal dispensaries go through the NY State cannabis testing, labeling, and reporting and that all dispensaries have to be transparent about their selling. In an email interview with The Gazette, Mr. Vautrin added that the problem is that most of the neon-signed, cartoon-themed stores you see on every street are illegal.
Mr. Vautrin notes that the bulk of illicit shops’ cannabis stock holds many health risks, including “pesticides, mold, solvents and are adulterated, making the [product] unsafe on many levels.”
The OCM also has a rule called “age-gating.” Regulated stores are restricted from selling their products to persons under the age of 21. On the other hand, illicit shops typically do not have an age verification system, which makes it easier for many underage people to access marijuana.
Mr. Vautrin said his work supporting legal cannabis dispensaries is helping to stomp out the illicit stores plaguing the village.
“The careful roll-out of the retail stores providing proximity restrictions has created an equitable market for the new businesses,” he said, “while also putting pressure on the illicit shops.”
When dispensaries are not age-gated, they pose threats to our city and society. For decades, it has been common knowledge that marijuana is detrimental to the brain development of young adults.
Grace students can speak to Julia Warren, one of the high school’s counselors, to get a more psychological perspective on the issue. Ms. Warren, one of the teachers of the 10th grade lab class Making Choices: Substances & Sexuality, preaches the importance of safety in the less academic activities students may partake in.
When asked about social media perceptions of recreational drug use by Grace students, Ms. Warren said, “Grace’s proximity to colleges, dispensaries, and smoke shops may promote a false sense of safety in students.
“Normalization can blind adolescents to the risks associated with marijuana because so many people are doing it around them,” she said. “It’s easy to think, ‘Oh it’s totally safe to smoke weed because I walk by people smoking on my way home every day.’”
Ms. Warren also suggested that legalization of marijuana “does not reduce the risk of adolescent use.”
Just because what previously might have been done in private now can be seen daily in public does not mean the health risks have disappeared. It is no secret that the East Village is a hub for smokers in New York City. By walking through the streets of Saint Mark’s Place or relaxing in Washington or Tompkins Square Park, one might see dozens of cannabis users indulging in their version of a good time. But what does the average Village resident think about the influx of marijuana in their neighborhood?
In a series of interviews conducted by The Gazette, most residents of the Village pick the in-between: They see little issue with the legalization of weed but, after learning about the illicit cannabis dispensaries, have concerns about the effect they are having around the neighborhood.
One day, east of the Tisch Fountain in Washington Square Park, Sam B., Harrison C., and Eduardo R., three New Yorkers who do not attend Grace Church School, dedicated their day in the park to spreading awareness about environmental issues to create a greener world. However, these activists offered insight into the issues about a different type of green.
Sam and Harrison had previous knowledge about the issues illicit dispensaries pose, but they also had their own two cents to add. They acknowledged that there is definitely an increase in the illegal dispensaries around the park but also shared some insight as to why so many of the shops are not regulated through the OCM.
“The permitting process is really slow,” described Harrison.
Many dispensaries without permits are not trying to be illegal businesses, but are just waiting in a never-ending queue to get their permit as they continue to sell illegally. From Union Square to the bottom of Manhattan Island, according to the OCM, there are just 11 permitted dispensaries compared to the more than a dozen you can find walking down St. Mark’s Place, let alone the rest of downtown Manhattan.
But why is the OCM so slow with its permitting process? According to the New York Times in the fall of 2023, the OCM received 7,000 applications from businesses seeking to open dispensaries. For these 7,000 applications, there are just 32 people assigned to evaluate them for approval.
Eduardo, who was strolling through Washington Square Park, had less of an interest in the dispensaries but wanted to share a concern about smokers in their neighborhood. He shared that he had no problem with people smoking weed but did share his issue with where people smoke it, stressing that people should “just follow the laws and consume within designated spaces.”
A lot of people who, like Eduardo, have no issue with marijuana usage share this same thought. Olga J. was spending her lunchtime hours people-watching while sitting on the ledge of Tisch Fountain. She said the problem was that “you can smell it a lot more.” Now that “you can just walk down the street and smoke a joint,” the smell is more prevalent in more spaces than just parks and other recreational areas.
The recent legalization of cannabis does not cause much of a major uproar in the day-to-day lives of East Village residents and Grace Church students, but there are many issues that trouble what the average person does not see. School psychologists and counselors see the negative effects of underage usage and illicit dispensaries that do not have strict age-gating contributions. As the marijuana market continues to grow, these issues could become even more severe.
Note from the counseling team: students can reach out to a trusted adult, like a dean, advisor, or counselor, if they have any concerns about substance abuse.
Caleb Lopata ‘26, the author, is a staff writer for The Gazette.