First dispensary operated by someone with previous marijuana conviction to open Tuesday in Manhattan – CBS New York

NEW YORK — The second legal marijuana dispensary is opening up in the city on Tuesday.

But this will be the first to go to someone who had a previous marijuana conviction.

The store is opening on Bleecker Street, but in this case, so is a lifetime of opportunity.

“It’s overwhelming,” Roland Conner said.

It’s overwhelming because Conner has this chance because he served time for a marijuana offense.

“Anytime someone gets locked up, even though they served the time, those stigmas stay with them,” Conner said.

However, New York state passed a law that lawmakers say will right a social-justice wrong, and take the victims of the system and give them the first batch of licenses to sell marijuana legally.

“I think everybody deserves a chance. You do your time, you come home, you should be able to get a job, and they should not hold that against you,” Conner said. “That’s one of the biggest things they have to fix.”

FLASHBACK: New York’s first recreational cannabis dispensary opens at 4:20 p.m. in East Village

In this case, the fix begins at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. And patrons better be ready. The first legal dispensary in the city opened last month and there were lines around the