NY Elite Cannabis landed in Bayside last month, and the family-run business has since been welcomed by locals.
Photo courtesy of NY Elite Cannabis
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After a grand opening in mid-June, NY Elite Cannabis on Bell Boulevard in Bayside already has several regulars among the dozens of daily customers purchasing legal cannabis products.
Many of these regulars are on a first-name basis with the owner, Carson Grant, who has called Queens home for nearly four decades since he immigrated from Jamaica in 1987. As someone who was disproportionately targeted by police for marijuana charges during the early 2000s, opening a dispensary with the help of the state marked a full-circle moment.
The 9,500-square-foot space is one of the largest legal dispensaries that have opened across the state in the past two years. The Bayside store carries a range of marijuana flowers, edibles, vapes and tinctures cultivated in farms across the state and adheres to a rigorous testing process set by the New York State Office of Cannabis Management.
“I wanted something for grown and sexy folks,” said Grant, who envisioned a clean