New Yorkers rejoice! While many of our west coast friends have had the luxury and convenience of shopping at cannabis dispensaries for years now, New Yorkers have obviously been quite limited, with only 5 of the 10 legally licensed organizations open for business throughout the entire state. But as of this past 4/20, all that’s changed thanks to luxury cannabis retailer MedMen.
The LA-based dispensary has just bet big on New York City with theirs (and the city’s) first-ever luxury cannabis dispensary. And the most surprising part? They opened it up in the most prime shopping district in the world—Fifth Avenue, mere blocks away from Barney’s, Saks, and Apple.
Of course all that makes sense, as the luxury cannabis brand touts itself as the “Apple store of cannabis,” and after walking into one of their dispensaries, it’s easy to see why. Far from your typical tie-dyed head shop or seedy smoke shop, MedMen offers a clean, brightly lit shopping experience akin to an Apple store or high-end fashion boutique, except instead of buying iPads or handbags, you’re buying weed. And plenty of it!
With more than 2,000 square feet of prime retail space, there’s no shortage of room to shop for your favorite strain. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of supply—for now—as per New York State law, MedMen can only sell vapes, tinctures, and capsules, and can only sell them to those who have a legal medicinal license to buy.
Still, while there may not be beautiful buds to gaze at, there’s certainly plenty of beautiful design to take in, with clean, wooden tables offering up iPads to interact with along with MedMen’s own version of Apple’s “geniuses.” Dressed in red MedMen tees, these so-called “pharmcists,” or “budtenders,” walk around educating and guiding those who find their way inside.
“We want people to be educated,” MedMen spokesman Daniel Yi told CNBC. “We want people to come here and say, ‘Oh, this is a medical marijuana store and I feel right at home.'”
Indeed we will, and we’ll feel even more at home once New York becomes fully legalized. In the meantime, at least we’ve got MedMen to remind us what we’re missing. And how far we’ve come.
