Photo by Howard Owens.
Matthew Starowitz arrived at Empire Hemp early this afternoon, well before the 1 p.m. opening time for legal cannabis sales, with the goal of being the first customer to make a legal weed purchase in Batavia.
Goal accomplished.
"That's the way I was raised," Starowitz said. "You support local people, and so you're there; you're the first one."
It's been a struggle to bring legal cannabis sales to Batavia as state regulators figure out the ins and outs of licensing and legal distribution. Empire Hemp has had products ready to sell for some time. With the "pop-up" store, called the Cannabis Growers Showcase, opening on Tuesday, they've been allowed to open to cannabis buyers on a limited basis.
The adult-use dispensary for licensed cultivators of high-quality cannabis products will run from 1 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday through Saturday through Dec. 30.
It provides local shoppers with the opportunity to purchase certified cannabis products, but the showcase opens the door for Empire Hemp to sell its THC products as well. Typically, the state doesn’t allow one company to be a grower, a processor and a retailer, VanDusen said, and this will allow his company to sell Empire Hemp products through Dank as the retailer set up within Empire Hemp shop.
Starowitz said he was happy the long process of marijuana legalization has gotten to the point that there is now a locally owned and operated retail location in Batavia.
"I've smoked it since I was like 12 years old," Starowitz said. "I'm 35 years old now. I have always loved it. It's just always been that way. So now that it's legal 100 percent, I'm going to support it locally."
He purchased several different products as a kind of sampler.
"I feel like I just want to sample everything that they have here, at least as far as sativa and sativa hybrids, because then I'll figure out what I like, you know," Starowitz said. "I think that this is better than the stuff I'll ever get from the Res because a lot of their stuff is unregulated. It's not lab-tested. At least this here is legit and lab-tested."
Why sativa?
"Because with indica, I feel like I get too lazy, and I really don't want to do too much," Starowitz said. "Whereas with sativa, I'm always active and going around and doing things. "I'm a vegetable farmer, so sativa is for me as the way to go. This way, I don't get lazy."
Previously: Making history: first-time legal cannabis sales begin Tuesday at Empire Hemp in Batavia
Photo by Howard Owens.
Photo by Howard Owens.
