In a few years Fifth Avenue will be greened!
If, according to Marilyn Monroe in the famous film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", diamonds are a girl’s best friend, then Marijuana is without question Americans’ best friend too. So much so that the in Fifth Avenue of New York City there is already a new store and is not exactly a design suits or jewelry one but a shop window to exhibit Marijuana, a strategy that the representatives of that industry are using to promote the legalization of cannabis. The opening of this store or dispensary was made precisely on the occasion of the celebration of the National Marijuana Day all over the country.
Californian MedMen Company opened a dispensary in that popular commercial road, to the surprise of the neighbors, local media and passers-by. Precisely Fifth Avenue’s regulars have already named the store as the "Apple Store of grass", due to its technological designed facade that resembles more a sales point of Cuperstino company than a dispensary.
With this new store located in that strategic place of New York, the Californian Company takes the first step forward in what will surely be a prosperous business. According to figures revealed by the communication representative of the company, MedMen is valued at more than 1,000 million dollars and with the initiative they aim at a higher income growth.
Daniel Yi, head of communication, also said that beyond getting money, the opening of the dispensary is a message for society and the government of the United States. "We are trying to say that marijuana belongs to conventional culture," he said. Yi also believes that its use will be an exit door for racial differences, since in his opinion, currently young Latinos and African-Americans are more charged by possession of Marijuana than those of other ethnic groups in the country.
MedMen’s idea, like many other entrepreneurs in the sector, is to tip the balance in favor of the legalization of marijuana with therapeutic purposes.
For Marijuana’s enthusiasts the year started with good news since on January 1st the use of Marijuana in the second most populated state of the country, California, was legalized. However, even though cannabis has been legalized in more than nine states and even in the District of Columbia, yet the Secretary of Justice, Jeff Sessions, has showed a reluctant position regarding opening the game to Marijuana. Nevertheless, the legal loopholes that have been left in some states of the nation have favored the commercialization of Cannabis.
Although it is very likely that, short term, the store opened in one of the most expensive areas of New York doesn’t get big revenues, MedMen is cresting pressure to break the expectations and ideas about the use of cannabis for medical and recreational purposes.
The Californian Company knows very well what they are doing. Some analysts estimate that if marijuana is legalized only in the State of New York, the business would generate approximately $ 3,000 million annually and an income of about 500 million in taxes for this state.
Therefore, more than giving a push, MedMen is driving the state’s government towards the legalization of the commercialization of cannabis for recreational purposes. New York is the most populated place in the United States and surely clients will increase if Marijuana gets green light.
So far cannabis plants are still banned in New York, so its sale continues being restricted for Manhattan’s weed enthusiasts. Currently, MedMen can only sell to patients with a prescription and registered in a state program that offers a very limited number of products such as capsules and vaporizers. While the most populated of US states does not authorize the use of cannabis for recreational purposes, the California Company will have to enforce the state restrictions and wait for them to go beyond medical use.
According to Yi, so far in Manhattan the company is authorized to open three dispensaries following the current regulations. They also plan to open another three stores in other districts of New York. We hope that the idea of MedMen will be effective and if Cynthia Nixon's campaign speech is listened to by Jeff Sessiones, in a few years Fifth Avenue will be greened.