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High fashion is the next phase of New York cannabis

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New York dispensaries and cannabis brands went all out for Fashion Week 2025. From exclusive apparel to private runway shows, here’s how cannabis and couture are colliding across New York City and redefining ‘high fashion.’

What’s most exciting is that it’s all new. There’s no playbook to consult, and no legacy to live up to—so it can be whatever both the fashion and cannabis communities want. As a representative from the whimsical fashion brand Collina Strada tells Leafly, “Cannabis is chic.”

Blunt Brunch boss babe Parisa Mansouri-Rad smokes a pink rose blunt during New York City Fashion Week 2025. (courtesy of Pinks)
Parisa Mansouri-Rad, co-founder of Blunt Brunch, smokes a rose petal blunt by canna-couture brand Pinks during New York City Fashion Week 2025. (courtesy of Pinks)

Gotham dispensary goes vogue with runway bong

People gather for GOTHAM dispensary event in New York.
GOTHAM dispensary’s events and after parties fill up fast. (GOTHAM)

At New York City’s Fashion Week for Fall/Winter 2025, the New York-based clothing brand Eckhaus Latta—beloved for their innovative use of unexpected textiles, earth tones, and effortlessly cool silhouettes—sent a bong down the runway. But not just any bong. This one matched the model’s abstract cheetah-print jeans, the tawny and cream tones highlighting the bong’s sculptured shape. 

The look was a hit, appearing on the homepage of multiple Vogue websites and featured prominently in the New York Times’ Style section. But what the publications didn’t mention was that the bong was a pointed statement made between New York’s Gotham dispensaries, the fashion brand Eckhaus Latta, and Italian design studio Weed’d, blending the fashion, cannabis, and design industries on an international scale.

According to the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, New York’s cannabis industry generated roughly $758 million in 2024, crossing the billion-dollar mark in January of this year. These numbers align nicely with New York City’s fashion industry, where its biannual Fashion Weeks generate anywhere from $600 million to $900 million every year on top of billions of dollars in wages. It seems obvious that creative people find a muse in using cannabis, but sources that spoke to Leafly said that a stigma persists. Their work, be it on the runway, in stores, or in the broader culture, is to show that people who love cannabis have good taste, and want to share that with the world. 

“It’s been really fun to work with some really amazing brands during Fashion Week,” said Rachel Berks, Gotham’s VP of creative + merchandising, who spearheaded the bong idea. “This is our third season being involved with Fashion Week… and the response has been, ‘of course, it makes so much sense.’”

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The challenge this year was to continually push New York’s collective imagination to the limit. “How do we show up for Fashion Week without just having a Gotham shopping bag with products in it? What can we do that goes beyond that?” 

Berks previously worked for years in New York’s fashion industry and ran her own lifestyle store, Otherwild, in Los Angeles that carried brands like Edie Parker, so her web of contacts across the industries was vast; last year’s collaborations included filling the designer Grace Ling’s signature “Butt bag” with joints for the runway, and a curated dinner experience with Eckhaus Latta.

The iconic bong came from Berks’s friendship with Milan-based design studio Weed’d, founded by designer Stefano Aschieri, who founded his project on 4/20 2022 in an ongoing effort to normalize cannabis in his home country, whose cannabis laws are far harsher.  

Stefano on the right, and Andrea right. (Courtesy Stefano Aschieri)

“The idea behind the project was to do something that could stand in the middle between performance—because the ritual has to be respected—but also interior design,” he said. The bong was a down-to-the-wire collaboration that positioned cannabis, American fashion, and Italian artisanship as collaborators and allies.

Aschieri works with heritage ceramicists in Venice, many of whom have changed their views on cannabis since working on Weed’d’s unique wares. That the bong came together in a matter of weeks is a miracle, both in time and as a landmark for what the future can hold around the world. 

“We really need to convince and help to shift people’s minds from ‘cannabis is bad, it’s ugly, it’s something that is relegated to dark places,’” said Aschieri. “This collaboration, I loved because the conservation and being able to to bring cannabis together with Gotham in the established context of Fashion Week is huge.”


Christian Cowan and Travel Agency team up for ‘High Fashion’

AKNVAS SS25 runway show (Courtesy The Travel Agency)

It’s fair to say that the media tends to give cannabis lovers a certain look. We can survey classic stoner movies like Cheech and Chong or Jay and Silent Bob Fight Back, to Seth Rogen’s more recent filmography. New York’s legalization came with ample opportunities not only for social equity in the industry, but also for the mainstream public to see cannabis enmeshed with highbrow and a luxury sensibility. 

The cheeky designer Christian Cowan made his runway debut in 2017, and sent a model onto the catwalk in a t-shirt with a loud, glittering cannabis leaf and the words “High Fashion” above it. 

Courtesy The Travel Agency

“We are in a time where cannabis use is the most prolific. It’s undeniable the effect this has on our creative culture,” Cowan wrote Leafly in an email. “Collaborations like this should always be encouraged, as they always help push the boundaries of what is expected.”

This past fashion week he collaborated with The Travel Agency on a custom lockbox in the Agency’s signature red, full of goodies from brands like Kiva Confections and Flamer. The collaboration was the brainchild of The Travel Agency’s brand engagement manager SRĐA, who joined the company less than two years ago after an extensive career that spanned costuming on Broadway, creative direction, queer nightlife and showrunning.

Back in September, they collaborated with the emerging brand AKNVAS and produced gift bags for everyone at the Danish-born brand’s SS25 runway show. February’s show built on that. 

AKNVAS SS25 runway show (Courtesy The Travel Agency)

“I’ve always found fashion really on the cutting edge and thinking forward, SRĐA told Leafly. “So as I was thinking about it I was like, ‘oh, what a perfect synergy with cannabis.’ It’s a great conversation-starter in terms of folks that are taste makers being able to see cannabis on a more elevated plane than maybe they had seen it previously.”


Pinks canna-couture brand previews Spring ’25 collection at Jue Lan

Pinks founder Ali Bianco sparks up a Pinks pre-roll Rose Blunt at Jue Lan Kitchen with Blunt Brunch co-founder Parisa Mansouri-Rad.
Pinks co-founder Ali Bianco sparks up a Pinks pre-roll Rose Blunt at Jue Lan Kitchen with Blunt Brunch co-founder Parisa Mansouri-Rad. (courtesy of Pinks)

How does a new brand stand out among thousands of new dispensary offerings? Pinks is aiming high, with rose-petal pre-roll joints, hand-crafted and presented in collectible pink matchboxes.

Pinks debuted at eight stores in 2024, and they’re now expanding across the five boroughs and upstate with premium ounces of flower (which come with a collectible velvet stash bag) and rose-petal blunts. Founder and visionary Ali Bianco debuted the new products at a private fashion week event attended by top New York retailers and influencers.

Pack of Pinks pre-roll cannabis wrapped in rose petals
A five-pack of Pinks pre-roll cannabis including one rose petal pre-roll. (courtesy of Pinks)

Hosted by the Blunt Brunch team at the famous Jue Lan Kitchen in Manhattan, attendees were treated to live music by Bianca Raquel, plus a custom menu of drinks and appetizers. After rave reviews and fab photo opps with dispensary owners and budtenders, look out for the Pinks Spring ’25 collection on dispensary shelves near you in April. Just in time for 4/20!





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Urban Leaf expands delivery across Manhattan

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Urban Leaf is one of the Upper East Sides top dispensaries. Located in a bustling area of high-end shops and restaurants, the slim store is built for speedy pickups and fast deliveries. This month, Urban Leaf is expanding their booming delivery service across Manhattan.

Browse their latest deals and discounts to save on your next pre-roll, vape, or edible purchase. From high-grade flower to cooking essentials, Urban Leaf stocks New York’s top legal cannabis brands including Leafly-verified brands like ROVE, Ayrloom, and Hepworth.

Ready to order? Check the Leafly Dispensary Finder to see Urban Leaf’s Manhattan hotspots for fast delivery service, including Upper West, Upper East, Chelsea, and more.

977 2nd Ave, New York, NY — recreational



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Buddha Chief raises vibrations at new Housing Works dispensary in NoMad

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In JAY-Z’s Grammy-winning music video “99 Problems,” he showcases spots from Bed-Stuy, the neighborhood that raised him. If you look closely, you might catch a glimpse of Vaughn Jefferson (better known as Buddha Chief) throwing punches in the music video’s basketball scene.

Housing Works NoMad grand opening
Vaughn Jefferson, aka Buddha Chief, celebrates the grand opening of his Housing Works NoMad location with friends and family. (Dane Brown)

Like JAY-Z, Jefferson is a Bed-Stuy native now bridging music and business, Jefferson is the equity partner in Housing Works’ new NoMad dispensary location, opened in the last weeks of 2024. Cannabis had always been a part of Jefferson’s life, but it was only until recently that the opportunity to bridge legacy to legal materialized. 

Housing Works NoMad overhead photo
(Dane Brown)

Jefferson grew up, in his words, at the height of the crack epidemic. Bed-Stuy was a vibrant community full of creative people (Big Daddy Kane grew up on his block), but it was mired in the War on Drugs. He was raised by his mother and grandmother (the original Buddha Chief). He started smoking himself in fifth grade (“too young,” he says), but he quickly realized its potential for musical inspiration and monetary gain rather than a personal pastime.

“‘Why am I doing this when I could just sell it to them? I have family, I have friends, I had classmates that all smoke. So my mindset was like, ‘this is what I’m going to do.’ And I took it to the moon from there.”

Buddha Chief

He got serious about selling weed upon graduating from high school, and quickly gained a reputation for his supply of Chocolate Thai, which was all the rage in Flatbush in the 90s. He was nimble and practical, but NYPD still managed to arrest him a couple times. 

Housing Works NoMad grand opening
(Dane Brown)

Jefferson’s mom, a corrections officer, gave him an ultimatum, and he agreed to go to community college—but it was more of a business opportunity than educational pursuit. Or maybe it was both. Jefferson went to Morrisville College upstate, where he found healthy demand for his product amongst students. It’s also where he found the connection to leverage his other lifelong passion, music.

Around the same time that he discovered cannabis as a child, Jefferson began frequenting a music studio on his block, one that recorded the likes of Mary J Blige, Biggie, and Method Man. It was life-changing. 

Housing Works NoMad overhead photo
Customer smell the merchandise after buying flower at Housing Works NoMad grande opening. (Dane Brown)

“I actually froze, and I said, ‘this is never going to happen to me again.’ And I started to take this serious as an art form.”

Buddha Chief

He had a friend that made beats, and another that painted murals for the team of Lyricist Lounge, a pillar of New York City hip hop in the ‘90s. Then he got spots in music videos while still recording. At Morrisville, in the early 2000s, he met the multi-talented International P, who ran a recording studio when they got back to NYC. This turned into a recording home for Jefferson, and when the idea fomented for Fight Klub, a rap battle show that would air on MTV2, International P asked Jefferson to lead the show’s A&R.

Music has been one of many outlets for Jefferson’s mission of Bed-Stuy championing. Through Fight Klub, he learned video production, and parlayed it into his own documentary series about mental health, self-care, and the journey to, like his namesake, inner healing and peace.

“I see that a lot of people in my community and my culture have been dealing with trauma that stem from the crack epidemic. This docuseries (The Cure Rater) is meant to make us aware, but make it educational and entertaining. I utilize myself as an example of what it looks like to heal. I still go through my own personal growth.”

Buddha Chief

Housing Works NoMad grand opening
Shelf space at Housing Works NoMad including Edie Parker(Dane Brown)

When whispers of legalization began around New York City, Jefferson took action. He started networking with other legacy players, like Happy Munkey, and attending industry events like On the Revel fairs. The process was rough, but the decision to partner with Housing Works was easy; their values on community support were fully aligned. “The work that they have already done in the nonprofit sector with the thrift shops and the fight for AIDS and homelessness—it just reminded me of what I’m trying to do in my community and with my own nonprofit.”

The NoMad location serves a new community (just blocks from the Empire State Building!) with the same care that the original Housing Works spearheaded back in 2022; great products, informed service, and a commitment to bettering cannabis’ legacy. Shop some of the state’s bestsellers like Rove, DANK. By Definition, Edie Parker, and Ayrloom, plus Housing Works merch.

Things often look cyclical in Jefferson’s life. His one-time gig in JAY-Z’s music video would years later become a job with the Shawn Carter Foundation. Many years after selling weed at Morrisville, it was the site of the announcement for his CAURD license. His childhood home is now his headquarters for non-dispensary endeavors. All the threads he’d woven in the legacy space, between cannabis, music, people, and community, have braided together. 

“The irony of that is crazy, of full circle. I just feel it’s a spiritual, divine connection, as far as going from legacy to legal,” he says. But in a way it makes sense. All roads lead to Rome after all, or at least, to NoMad. 

“None of them exist separately, right? They kind of all inform and blend into each other. A merging of many lanes and worlds that I come from and just bringing it to a head, because I am who I am.”

Buddha Chief



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New weed shops of America: Miami’s first MMJ shop opens

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Who needs new weed shops? We do. Miami gets its first medical dispensary, New Mexico welcomes a massive cannabis superstore, and a Detroit rapper brings legal weed to 8 Mile. Here are the new dispensary openings across America this month.

Got a new shop? Put it on the map. Visit Leafly Success to advertise. 

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Arizona

new weed shops near me
(Courtesy Ponderosa)

Ponderosa Dispensary— Tucson, AZ. Opened Jan. 18. Firstly, let’s start with the desert. Tuscon just got a little greener thanks to the arrival of Ponderosa Dispensary. Stocking over 20 premiere cannabis brands, Ponderosa aka the Pondy also scores bragging rights for having the largest selection of in-house brands Canamo Concentrates and Sonoran Roots available anywhere in Tucson. Other highlights include friendly, informed budtenders and a “full-sensory” shopping experience. 3008 N. Stone Ave, Tucson. 

California

Urbana Oakland— Oakland, CA. Opened Jan. 17. You’ll have to get your order of fries somewhere else as former burger joint Luke’s Taproom has now officially reopened as the latest outpost of Urbana’s chain of NorCal dispensaries. Specifically, the updated digs “preserve the industrial charm of the property while adding modern, welcoming touches” that include consumption lounges and a “vibrant calendar of events that celebrates local art, culture, and education.” 415 W Grand, Oakland.

Florida

Ayr Wellness—Miami, FL. Opened Jan. 10. It took long enough, but Miami’s first medical cannabis dispensary is now finally open. In the works with the City of Miami since 2016, Ayr Wellness has at last opened the chain’s 67th location in the state. Offering a full menu of flower, vape carts, edibles, and more, representatives for Ayr shared their hope to cater to “underserved medical marijuana patients” at their Midtown store, which is located within a shopping district that draws heavy foot traffic. 3160 N. Miami Ave, Miami.

Maryland

The Forest—Baltimore, MD. Opened Jan. 18. Don’t mistake the trees for The Forest because both are welcome additions to the scene in Baltimore. Marking Maryland’s first vertically integrated social equity license to open shop, The Forest is African American and Latina majority-owned and plans to situate their business as a “holistic wellness experience with access to high-quality cannabis products” including concentrates, pre-rolls, and topicals. 3301 Boston St, Baltimore. 

Michigan

Fly Shifter Cannabis—Detroit, MI. Opened Jan. 11. Don’t tell Poppa Doc but Detroit’s 8 Mile has a new heavyweight in the form of Fly Shifter Cannabis from homegrown rapper and entrepreneur Lou “Big Shifter” Gram. Perks include a plethora of premium cannabis products, a Shifter’s Only Club providing loyalty rewards, and an ongoing commitment to supporting Detroit’s “local economy and cultural landscape.” 6220 8 Mile Rd, Detroit. 

Missouri

CODES—Kansas City, MO. Opened Jan. 18. Comedian and cannabis enthusiast/entrepreneur Jim Belushi was on hand to welcome Kansas City’s newest dispensary to the party. Billed as “one of the fastest-growing brands in Missouri’s cannabis industry,” CODES prides itself on offering premium cannabis products, including exclusive cultivars, edibles, and concentrates, designed to cater to a “broad spectrum of Kansas City’s diverse clientele.” 668 E Red Bridge Rd, Kansas City. 

New Jersey

new weed shops near me
(Courtesy Budzooka)

Budzooka—Elizabeth, NJ. Opened Jan. 29. The proudly Hispanic-owned Budzooka Dispensary has officially opened in the home of a former bank in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Featuring a clean interior flecked with splashes of bright color, Budzooka also offers a “bud bar” where customers can see and smell the various types of cannabis flower available for sale. The shop’s menu also includes an extensive list of vapes, concentrates, edibles, and even a few MSO (multi-state operator) brands like Loud Labs and Nova Farms. 142 Broad St, Elizabeth.

New Mexico

Mango Cannabis—Sunland Park, NM. Opened Jan. 22. If there’s one thing New Mexico was missing, it’s a 9,000-square-foot cannabis superstore. Thankfully, Mango Cannabis has fixed the issue by opening the state’s largest dispensary (to date) last month. Capable of processing 2,000 to 3,0000 order per day, the Sunland Park location is set to carry over 3,000 SKUS (products) that include “the top [hundred] most popular brands in the state.” 1051 McNutt Road, Sunland Park. 

New York

Kaya Bliss— Brooklyn, NY. Opened Jan. 9. The new weed shops of New York keep coming. Once a hair salon, the confines of Brooklyn’s Kaya Bliss have a decidedly different vibe these days. Customers visiting Bay Ridge’s first licensed adult-use cannabis dispensary can look forward to walls decorated with murals, comprehensively trained budtenders, and over 400 products from more than 30 brands to choose from. Purchases can be made either at the registers or at conveniently located in-store kiosks. 8412 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn. 

The Herb Cave—Plattsburgh, NY. Opened Dec. 27. Northern New York scored a big win with the opening of the first woman-owned, licensed cannabis dispensary in the Plattsburgh region last month. With a menu featuring “a variety of craft cannabis products sourced from smaller farms and micro-businesses throughout New York State,” The Herb Cave prides itself as a “experienced, reliable, established” legacy business here to solve your cannabis needs. 19 State Rte 3, Plattsburgh. 

Pennsylvania

Terrapin Care Station—Bellefonte, PA. Opened Jan. 9. One year after Gov. Josh Shapiro signed the bill ushering in a new era of legal medical cannabis in Pennsylvania, independent medical cannabis grower and processor Terrapin has launched a store in Bellefonte. The site marks the first of three planned locations for Terrapin, including forthcoming stores in Lewisburg (Kelly Township) and Lock Haven (Woodward Township). Dates for the latter two stores remain yet to be announced but are expected soon. 205 Park Place, Bellefonte. 

In conclusion—it’s a tremendous time for medical and adult-use cannabis access. Just look at all these new weed shops near you. Did we miss any? Leave a comment with a new one.

Got a new shop? Get it on the map. Visit Leafly Success to advertise.



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