Sign up for our amNewYork email newsletter to get news, updates, and local insights delivered straight to your inbox!
Marijuana has been legal in New York state since 2021, but the level of confusion remains high as to what is and isn’t permitted under the new cannabis regulations.
Let’s cut to the most clear part of the law: New Yorkers aged 21 and over are legally able to possess up to 3 ounces of pot or 24 grams of cannabis concentrate. They can smoke it or vape it— for the most part—wherever cigarettes are permitted.
Where the confusion truly begins, however, is the method by which New Yorkers can get it in the first place, since all sales are illegal except those made by state-licensed dispensaries.
The state, excluding medical dispensaries, only permits stores with “adult-use recreational dispensary licenses” to sell it. In New York state, there are presently only seven stores that have opened with such licenses, with just four in New York City — though more are slated to open in the near future.
In New York City, the first licensed recreational dispensary didn’t open until December 2022, nearly 2 years after cannabis was decriminalized by the state
