Wanting to invest in himself and be free of bosses, Terrence Gorham started selling customized T-shirts, hoodies and backpacks from a folding table in Washington Square Park a year ago.
New York State legalized marijuana last September, and although the law allows for personal possession of up to three ounces of cannabis, regulations for sales have not yet been adopted.
On Thursday, responding to concerns that the overwhelming majority of people jailed in the past for marijuana charges were young people of color, Gov.
In Washington Square Park in Manhattan — a place that is no stranger to weed, surreptitiously sold or smoked — a breezy open-air market has emerged.
Tim Green, an advertising executive from Sydney, Australia, took in the scene as he smoked a joint he had just bought from a vendor.
“It’s got an old hippie vibe,” Mr. Green, 55, said, still surprised by the open sales.
“I smoke too much weed to be mad at anybody,” said a 21-year old vendor whose nickname, EZ, matched his attitude.
EZ, who prefers to go by his nickname because selling weed is still prohibited, is a musician.
On most days, EZ arrives at the park by 9 a.m., commuting from his home in Brooklyn’s East New York neighborhood, and works at a table with his business partner.
He and the half-dozen other vendors who set up in the park regularly know they are operating in a gray area, but they said the police had not bothered them by and large.
The Police Department and parks department did not offer a formal response, but officials at both agencies said they were working together to enforce vending regulations.
Just as the pandemic changed people’s priorities, values and coping skills, Mr. Gorham thought it had also eased the way for selling openly.
Years in the making.
New York became the ninth state to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, making possession of up to 25 grams — or nearly an ounce — a violation punishable by a fine of up to $100.
Under the law, 40 percent of tax revenue from cannabis will go to minority communities ravaged by the war on drugs.
Now, she presides over a busy and colorful table featuring cannabis edibles, pre-rolls and flower, as well as CBD lotions she sells under her Canaremedy brand, which she markets as a queer, Black-owned business.
Now that New York has legalized marijuana, and with the latest announcement that the first licenses would go to people with cannabis convictions, her goal was to set up a storefront and expand her offerings.
Marijuana has been helping me for 12 years, and it’s helped me so much, I want to create a company to help others.