Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced that New York state’s first woman-owned conditional adult-use retail cannabis dispensary will open in Queens on Thursday.
The cannabis shop Good Grades, located at 162-03 Jamaica Ave. in Jamaica, is scheduled to open at 2 p.m. on March 30. In addition to being the first woman-owned dispensary in the state, it will be the first legal adult-use retail cannabis dispensary in Queens.
Good Grades is operated by entrepreneur Extasy James and her cousin, Michael James, Jr.
James Jr. is an attorney who focuses on serving clients with a core value of advocating for the minority business community.
“With the opening of Good Grades in Queens, we’re continuing to build on our progress to create a safe, regulated cannabis industry in New York,” Hochul said. “New York is working to support entrepreneurs and ensure that consumers can purchase safe, legal products while supporting their communities.”
The New York State Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund supported the opening of this woman-owned business. As with many other dispensaries supported by the fund, licensees like Good Grades will be provided the opportunity to open on a short-term basis to fast-track sales, provide training opportunities for employees and start generating capital for their businesses. After, they will close for final construction and then re-open on a long-term basis. For now, the store will operate as a pop-up.
“As we open the first dispensary in Queens, we continue to affirm New York’s commitment to address deeply embedded historical injustices and to create new opportunities to foster intergenerational wealth for those most impacted by disproportionate enforcement of cannabis prohibition,” Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) President and CEO Reuben McDaniel III said. “I’m grateful for Governor Hochul’s leadership, the extraordinary support this program has had from the Legislature, and work of the Fund’s…
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