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New York dispensary owners are collaborating for a better future

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This coalition of legacy operators is united and ready to thrive in New York’s legal market.


It’s been almost four years since cannabis was legalized for all adults in New York—and two years since the state’s first adult-use store opened. But many of New York’s first licensed dispensary owners are still fighting for a fair shake on the legal market.

To balance the odds, Flower City Dispensary owners Britni and Jayson Tantalo unified the New York Retail Cannabis Association (NYCRA). The NYCRA comprises hundreds of dispensary owners determined to make the most of New York’s historic licensing program. In 2021, the state’s MRTA law put those most impacted by cannabis prohibition first in line for dispensary licenses. But the road to opening has been full of unforeseen challenges.

NYCRA leaders Jayson Tantalo(left), Britni Tantalo(center) and Coss Marte (right) are demanding new regulations and protections for New York dispensary operators.
NYCRA leaders Jayson Tantalo (left), Britni Tantalo (center) and Coss Marte (right) are demanding better regulations and protections for New York dispensary operators. (courtesy of NYCRA)

“The sad truth is that there are only a few operators that were lucky to find success and are profitable so far. A few are just breaking even, and a large share are still at the starting point from over two years ago. It has placed a major boulder on all of our backs and our families.”

Britni Tantalo, Flower City Dispensary owner, Co-Founder & President of New York Cannabis Retail Association

NYCRA co-founder and president Britni Tantalo told Leafly that “stringent marketing and packaging regulations, limited indoor cultivation and canopy capacity, and the early entry of large out of state companies to the market put a burden on local operators.” NYCRA leaders believe the current regulations are stopping locally-owned dispensaries from growing into sustainable businesses.

This year, NYCRA and Leafly partnered to help New York dispensaries navigate the many challenges facing the new legal market. Keep reading to see how we’re helping New York dispensaries bounce back, and reach out to NYCRA to learn more about joining their community of cannabis operators.


The challenges of opening New York’s first adult-use dispensaries

NYCRA leaders advocate for a fair shake from the state.
“When you care about people, you will show up for them, you will fight for them and you will do everything in your power to protect them. It’s just that simple!” Britni Tantalo (far right), owner of Flower City Dispensary and co-founder and president of the New York Retail Cannabis Association. (courtesy of NYCRA)

Of the 463 licenses granted in the first round so far, only 227 are open for business. Another 1,400 or so license applicants are waiting for the state’s approval to open—but it could take until 2026 for all of them to be reviewed.

Many applicants had to secure and pay for their store’s property before receiving their license. That means some have been paying rent on commercial spaces for months without any assurances on when they’d be approved to open, if at all.

The Tantalos waited two years for approval to open Flower City before getting the green light. To make matters worse, they watched unlicensed shops spread like wildfire while they paid rent for a legal shop they couldn’t operate.

“We had to borrow against our homes, borrow from family and friends and/or downsize operations [just] to open a location. It placed everyone in a position of financial constraint and therefore mental and emotional instability.”

Britni Tantalo, Flower City Dispensary

To weather the storm, members of the New York Cannabis Retail Association embrace a philosophy of collaboration over competition.

NYCRA Vice President Jayson Tantalo explains, “We share valuable resources such as business plans, SOPs, along with just emotional support, which have proven essential for licensed operators who may not know where to start.”

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Here’s why hundreds of NY dispensary openings have been delayed

House of Hibernica dispensary outside
After a year of paying for a storefront they couldn’t open, House of Hibernica opened in April and has grown fast in 2024. They’re no offering deliveries to all of the Bronx. (House of Hibernica)

In the Bronx, the House of Hibernica endured multiple delays before finally being cleared to open this April. “It was a whole year from when we applied for the license, to opening,” said Hibernica co-owner Bojan Trpcevski. “We had to have a store so we could apply. Then the injunction happened in 2022. So we were paying rent for a year,” Trpcevski said.

In November 2022, a judge blocked hundreds of stores from opening for six months as part of a controversial injunction. The lawsuit that caused the injunction was filed by an out of state resident who said the program’s social equity requirements violated the US constitution.

Just as the first applicants were being approved to open in 2022, multipleinjunctions placed the rollout in jeopardy. Dispensary owners were on the hook for real estate, operations costs, and private investments. Delays compounded as the state’s resources and attention went to the court case. When the first injunctions finally began to lift in May 2023, the plaintiff in one case received a license as part of a settlement agreement. By then, many owners were already 6 months behind their business projections.

Then, this October, a group of unlicensed dispensaries that were shut down for allegedly selling cannabis without a license also took the state to court, and won. They claimed they were put out of business without receiving due process as part of Mayor Eric Adams’ Operation Padlock, which has reportedly padlocked over 1,000 unlicensed shops since kicking off this spring. Last month, a judge ruled that the operation “stands against the cornerstone of American democracy and procedural due process.” The ruling could encourage unlicensed shops to re-open, adding uncertainty for operators as newly-approved stores open almost daily.

Operators like Budega’s Alex Norman have had no time to place their dreams on hold. “I started my brand three years ago in anticipation of an opportunity like this,” Norman told Leafly days after the injunction came down. “But I’m not gonna say it’s gonna stop me.” Over a year after the injunction and still not open, Norman remains dedicated to seeing things through with Budega after decades in the legacy market.

House of Hibernica’s team said they had no idea it would be this difficult when they started the process of applying. “We thought it would be similar to the restaurant business,” Trpcevski said, “because we opened a few before. We didn’t expect that we were going to wait so long, and that every small thing is going to stop the whole process.”

How much is a New York dispensary license worth?

Housing Works board member and owner of Brooklyn Legends Dispensary. (Calvin Stovall / Leafly)
Housing Works board member and owner of Brooklyn Legends Dispensary shows off one of New York’s first legal cannabis purchases: Pre-roll Minis by Lobo— which are still top sellers across the state nearly two years after debuting. (Calvin Stovall / Leafly)

The unforeseen delays have some license holders thinking about selling equity, or their entire license to the highest bidder. “The valuation is running from $600,000 to $800,000,” according to Daron Hudson, owner of Brooklyn Legends Dispensary, which is licensed and waiting to open. “If you have a location secured, it’s going up to $2,000,000,” Hudson told Leafly this fall.

Hudson is also a board member at Housing Works, New York’s first retail dispensary, which opened in December 2022. But opening his own store has proven much more difficult than getting the well-known nonprofit off the ground.

To help with start-up costs, the state originally promised owners a private equity fund to support store build outs. But the fund failed to launch.

“The access to capital and other resources that were promised to all of us CAURD applicants was simply not there. When you are promised a turnkey dispensary with low interest rates and access to grants from your state regulators, you don’t plan to obtain these things for yourself. When we realized that the promises were not going to be fulfilled anytime soon, if at all, we had no choice but to pivot. Most of us could not find investors because investor confidence was low due to the failed rollout.”

Britni Tantalo, Flower City Dispensary

Now, a new loan fund may provide some relief. But Hudson and other owners have already begun vetting investors who can help them get opened. And they’re finding that these new potential partners have far more leverage than the state’s regulations intended.

“I was part of the Housing Works license, I was the justice involved individual that helped get them the license. But now as an applicant myself, it hasn’t been an easy road. There’s no funding whatsoever. If you don’t have money in a shoe box somewhere, you’re left at the mercy of investors. And they’re bringing you these astronomical terms that are bleeding you out. There’s a sense of urgency to get the doors open. But I have to find somebody that I can trust to do business with for the next ten years.”

Daron Hudson, owner Brooklyn Legends Dispensary

How NYCRA and Leafly are helping New York dispensaries thrive

Leafly is proud to help bring New York dispensary owners new legal customers from across the state. Jayson Tantalo said dispensaries need help creating “brand recognition and demonstrating what legal cannabis looks like here in New York.” That’s why we’re leaning into content and activations that represent the very best of New York cannabis.

Our content partnerships with stores like Good Grades and Trends use the power of Leafly’s strain and product database to help keep shoppers informed about what they’re buying. In-person activations around the state are also helping first-time legal shoppers discover the top dispensaries and cultivators in their area. With the both the state, and federal laws, limiting the ways dispensaries and cannabis brands can advertise, every new customers counts.

“Partnering with Leafly brings tremendous value to our organization. Advertising and marketing are extremely difficult to navigate and complex to understand. By providing this platform to our members. With almost 20 years of experience in search engine optimization, I understand the challenges involved in effectively advertising. The terms being offered by Leafly to our members are particularly valuable because they make customers more accessible.”

Jayson Tantalo, Vice President of NYCRA and co-owner of Flower City Dispensary

Leafly and NYCRA also work closely with store operators to analyze data that improves their performance. We’re going the extra mile to make the cannabis industry accessible for all – including those negatively impacted by the failed war on drugs.

“I had Leafly before the legal industry even started,” said Hudson. “It was for the strains. Back in the legacy era, if somebody was selling me cannabis and said this is purple something, I’d go see what purple is on Leafly.”

Leafly stands with New York dispensaries

Since 2010, Leafly has provided cannabis patients, users, growers, advocates, and researchers with groundbreaking data that’s helped normalize the plant in 38 legal states and over 40 counties. With New York City consuming more cannabis than any other city in the world, the state’s new legal market presents an enormous opportunity for residents and visitors to safely and responsibly support local growers and sellers.

Now let’s get to work!

Click here to find your closest New York legal dispensaries on Leafly.





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High grade bud is (finally) hitting New York dispensaries

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By Robb Reefa


In New York, strong weed is sometimes called “pain.” But when rec dispensaries started opening in 2023, the legal flower was painfully average. Early releases weren’t packing much punch because the state limited growers to harsh outdoor conditions and limited greenhouse space. That meant no Zaza, no chronic, no loud for the heavy duty stoners.

But a new day has finally come.

Indoor is everywhere. Existing brands have upgraded their menus fast now that better bud is available. And hundreds of newly licensed brands from the legacy and out-of-state markets are debuting quality work on shelves everyday. via newly released micro-businesses and cultivation licenses. For 2025 and beyond, here are the craft and commercial brands delivering top-flight flower to New York shelves and where to find them right now.


Runtz

ObamaRuntzArt2
(Leafly)

By unanimous decision — budtenders and smokers say that Runtz is the new reigning champ of New York flower. The 2019 Leafly Strain of the year grew into a national brand powered by Lemon Cherry Gelato-adjacent genetics. Plus master marketing from Runtz brand co-founders Ray Bama and Yung LB. Earlier this year, the official Runtz pack debuted to rave reviews in New York dispensaries. Obama Runtz and Trump Runtz have been hard to keep in stock. Happy hunting!


This craft quality grower made a huge name for himself on the legacy market. Now he’s partnering with top dispensaries like Good Grades and Torches for limited drops. His first run sold out in a few hours earlier this month. Stay tuned to Good Grades and Torches on Leafly for menu updates and restocks from The Mechanic’s Farm.


Rolling Green

This may be the most respected brand among budtenders in New York. No matter who we talked to, Rolling Green got a nod in the discussion for best flower in New York state dispensaries. They aren’t hard to find. Hit the button to roll with the best.


Rec Roots

Loud since day one: Rec Roots is run by true OGs of the New York legacy community. They are now leaders of the legal space with top genetics that keep smokers stuck. Try Red Sangria or Sour Zkittlez at a dispensary near you.


ADK

Upstate in Albany, our friends at Stage One swear by ADK. Strains like White Truffle x Devil Driver and Alien Apple Kush fly as soon as they come in, according to budtenders in New York dispensaries.


Synergy

Synergy’s dialed in on the strains high-end smokers are looking for. Sweet and pungent genetics like Blue Gushers, Sour Space Rocks, and Pink Guava Synergy are available now in The Bronx (Bleu Leaf), Manhattan (Torches), Queens (Weedside), satisfying the real Zaza lovers.


The team at Nicklz shared some Rhythm flower on a night out. We were impressed by the nug structure and terps on the Zoap and Animal Mintz strains. Available statewide, click below to find Rhythm at a nearby dispensary on Leafly.


STA Exotic (cultivated by Torrwood Farm)

Torrwood Farm photo on Leafly
“We’re never going to be the Walmart of cannabis,” says Torrwood Farm owner Lucas Kerr. “But we don’t want to be a mom and pop. We want to be somewhere in the middle.” (Torrwood Farm)

Cultivated by Torrwood Farm, New Yorkers are grabbing STA Exotic’s premium flower and infused pre-rolls by the handful. Grown in 200-year old living soil, STA livest up to its exotic name.


Super Dope

I recently tried this brand from Good Grades and gave it a great review overall. They got pulled from shelves momentarily, due to censorship on their Hentai-themed packaging. But more drops are coming from this high-demand craft quality brand.


Pinks

Pinks Spring '25 collection includes this gorgeous stash box, loaded with accessories and flower. (courtesy of Pinks)
Pinks Spring ’25 collection includes this gorgeous stash box, loaded with accessories and flower. (courtesy of Pinks)

This brand is working multiple farms across the state to deliver high-end flower and pre-rolls. Their rose petal joints enhance classic strains like Pink Runtz on their menu.


This micro-license brand has been around for years in New York’s legacy space. Their first legal release is a hit, and shows steady development over the years. The Sensei Cult always puts cannabis above clout. And that dedication translates to their legal flower.

Cookies

First Toke: Erykah Badu reveals ‘That Badu’ strain collab with Cookies image

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Strains & products

First Toke: Erykah Badu reveals ‘That Badu’ strain collab with Cookies

Dan Reagans and Calvin Stovall

March 1, 2023

That Badu has been a favorite at Leafly since 2023. Another gift to New York smokers is Apples & Bananas – a Cali classic that blends Compound Genetics and Cookies flavors into an all-time strain.

What are you smoking? Erykah Badu image

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Lifestyle

What are you smoking? Erykah Badu

Calvin Stovall

March 8, 2023


Heady Tree

This brand is hard to locate on dispensary shelves. So don’t sleep if you see it. Budtenders are known to save some of their check when they see this on the menu.


Leal does it better than most. Which is impressive for the volume of flower they produce. The attention to detail is pristine according to the budtenders and buyers we spoke to at New York dispensaries.


Classic staples like Lemon Cherry Gelato and Sherbert are dialed in by these experts of the New York indoor game. GOTHAM shoppers and budtenders swear by the brand’s menu.


Rolling Stoned

New York essential strains like Uptown Haze are available in limited supply at dispesaries like The Bronx Joint.


House of Strains Staff Picks

16105 29th Ave, Flushing, NY — recreational

We saw our friends at House of Strains and got their staff’s top picks for New York flower. Their high standards for flower means their menu always lives up to the store’s name. Here’s what they had to say about New York’s top flower brands.


With strains like Wet Dream and WAP, Zizzle is flying off of shelves. Their whole flower eighths are a cut above most brands. And they’re not hard to find statewide. Next time you’re in Queens, stop by House of Strains for one of the state’s best selections of Zizzle flower.


Doobie Labs

No hesitation. this is one of the most popular brands on New York dispensary shelves. Doobie Labs is an instant buy for true tokers in New York.


Ghost.

Strains like Hot Glue and BBK are some of Ghost’s best sellers. Their 7-gram jars are supernatural.





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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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