QUEENS — New York’s first woman-owned cannabis retail dispensary is slated to open this week in Jamaica, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday.
Good Grades will open for business on Thursday at 162-03 Jamaica Avenue at 2 p.m., gaining monetary support from a state fund that helps set foot into the adult-use cannabis industry.
“We are incredibly passionate about providing greater access to cannabis and breaking down the barriers that prevent so many people, especially those from marginalized communities, from experiencing the benefits of this amazing plant,” said Good Grades owner, Extasy James, who was once criminalized by cannabis prohibition.
Good Grades will be the first legal retail dispensary in Queens.
The state’s Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund helps people with CAURD licenses, which allow dispensaries to open for legal adult-use cannabis sales in New York state, meet the cost of opening their business.
The fund is available to those who had a cannabis conviction themselves or a close family member of someone who does, owns, or has owned a business that had a net profit for at least two years.