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Clay, N.Y. ā Lighting up for the holidays is taking on a whole new meaning this week for T.J. Lewis.
Lewis on Friday expects to open his shop, TJās Cannabis Co. Heāll become just the second legal, state-licensed recreational marijuana retailer in Onondaga County.
āI got the golden ticket and Iām ready to go,ā he said. His marijuana retail shop, or dispensary, opens at noon Friday in the Longbranch Park Plaza off Route 57 in Clay.
For Lewis, itās been a long and difficult wait. Heās had a preliminary state license to sell marijuana since May. But, like hundreds of other licensees across the state, his dream has been held up by lawsuits and other delays in the stateās roll out of marijuana sales.
In June, Onondaga Countyās first marijuana dispensary, Flynnstoned Cannabis, opened at 219 Walton St. in Syracuseās Armory Square. It has been the only licensed shop in the county, or anywhere in Central New York, since then.
Along with Lewis, 12 other preliminary licensees have been waiting for the lawsuits to be resolved, and then for the state Office of Cannabis Management to conduct a final āwalk throughā inspection so they can open.
Cannabis office inspectors checked out Lewisā shop at 4095 Long Branch Road on Tuesday. They issued him a sticker certifying his compliance with all the rules and regulations at that time. Heās expecting the full license to be issued today.
Heāll open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but then close on Monday for Christmas. He said heās spent so much money and time getting ready that he ācanāt affordā not to open as soon as possible.
Lewis had operated a shop called TJās Hydroponic at the same location, but closed it this summer in anticipation of getting the green light to open sooner. That meant heās had no income for months.
The shop will be stocked with a full array of products, from flower and pre-rolls to vapes, edibles and more. Depending on the strain, he expects to sell 1/8 ounce of flower in a range from $25 to $50.
TJās Cannabis opens as the logjam in the stateās legal marijuana sales looks like its beginning to open up.
The state last month settled a major lawsuit that had shut down openings of the preliminary licensees under what is called the CAURD program (Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary). Those licenses had gone primarily to individuals who had prior convictions for marijuana offenses no longer considered crimes.
Lewis qualified due to a prior arrest and conviction.
The state also recently took applications for a more open individual licensing program, and will soon issue licenses for recreational sales by the stateās existing medical marijuana providers. Itās not yet clear how long any of those shops will take to open.
Lewis said heās been preparing for months to hit the ground running when his license came through.
He plasn to be open noon to 8 p.m. this Friday, 8 a.m. to midnight on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Going forward, he plans to open Mondays through Saturdays.
āItās been so long, but now itās here,ā he said. āWe are going to roll.ā
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at (315) 470-2297 or dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.