About Queens Dispensary
Queens Dispensary first woman-owned cannabis retail store opens Thursday. It’s not just the first dispensary in Queens — it’s also the state’s first to open outside Manhattan, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced earlier this week. Good Grades in Jamaica, Queens, will open as a “pop-up,” like other stores supported by the state’s Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund, which gives licensees the chance to open for a short-term period to fast-track sales and start generating capital before closing for final construction and opening on a long-term basis.
The new space is an ode to the newspaper industry, from the lit up New Metro signs — in various iconic newspaper fonts — that greet customers at the front desk to the revolving display of edibles that puts each type of gummy on a pedestal for easy browsing. Close to two dozen employees wear simple black hoodies with the store’s name in a newspaper font as they help people select products.
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Unlike illegal smoke shops that are scattered throughout the city, legal ones are required to abide by strict rules, such as being a certain distance away from schools and houses of worship. The one on 30th Avenue in Astoria – just blocks from PS 17 and Athens Square park – has a sandwich board that advertises bud, pre-rolled joints, oils and gummies.
A sign on the door explains that the shop’s owners, who are not named in order to protect their identities, have been trained by Curaleaf NY, a licensed producer of medical marijuana in the state. They are tasked with educating the public about the benefits of cannabis and helping to guide patients on how to use it.