New York to open first legal pot dispensary by year’s end

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s first legal dispensary for recreational marijuana is set to open Dec. 29. The opening of the Manhattan dispensary will mark the long-awaited launch of a cannabis industry that will certainly become one of the country’s most lucrative. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that Housing Works will be the first of 36 recently licensed dispensaries to begin selling cannabis to the general public. The minority-controlled nonprofit serves people with HIV and AIDS, as well as homeless and formerly incarcerated people. The announcement was made one month after the Cannabis Control Board issued its first round of licenses.