“I do look forward to the day we see a legal cannabis dispensary open up in Harlem, owned by someone from Harlem, ideally someone who’s faced setbacks from cannabis prohibition,” said Damian Fagon, chief equity officer for the OCM.
OCM and DASNY did not respond for comment about the reasons for the dispensary’s delays or whether they have identified a retailer for the location by the publication deadline.to Gov. Kathy Hochul that encouraged the state to reconsider the site and circulated an online petition that gathered over 700 signatures. The BID has specified that it’s not against a dispensary in the area of marijuana legalization, but that particular location.
Askins, along with other community members, also raised the practical issue that the 125th is already a jammed thoroughfare where they are worried about creating more truck and foot traffic. As an alternative, Askins suggested locating the Harlem State Office building, a nineteen-story high-rise a block away from the proposed site.
“There is no relationship with heroin use in legal cannabis industries. There has not been an explosion of heroin use in Oakland where cannabis has been legal for 10 years,” he said.that showed in some places that have opened legal dispensaries, crime actually decreased.