Long Island's 1st adult-use marijuana dispensary opens

Long Island's first adult-use cannabis dispensary is now open in Farmingdale. Hundreds lined up in the hot sun Saturday to get their hands on the products. 

Once the ribbon was cut, the doors to Strain Stars at 1815 Broadhollow Road flew open, dozens of proud marijuana users filed in and the earthy smell wafted out.  

"This place is beautiful," remarked Damian Fagon, with the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). "This place is actually beautiful." 

Inside Long Island's first Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary were 400 weed products in premium packaging, proving how far the recreational weed market has come.  

"Being labeled a drug addict most of my life," said cannabis user Andy Graubart, "I'm not, I'm a success story." 

Graubart, who was first in line, waited more than two hours for the grand opening, walking into the mecca of marijuana with glee.

"Marijuana saved my life," Grabart said. "And if it's done in the proper way, it helps with ADHD, it helps with bipolar, it helps with anxiety, depression, it's natural. And it really does work."  

And while you can find studies touting the medicinal uses of marijuana, you can find just as many studies warning about the hazards, including memory loss and psychosis.  

"There will be haters," Fagon said. "We at OCM know about haters."  

But most people in line, who ranged in age from baby boomers to Gen Z, said legalization was the biggest benefit of all, especially for one of Strain Stars' owners who was arrested three times for possession.  

"It was a long way," said Kamaldeep Singh, a Strain Stars Owner. "And I'm happy we made it." 

The first legal cannabis in New York was sold in Manhattan back in December 2022. Strain Starts is the 18th dispensary to open.