BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Western New York's first legal cannabis dispensary. owned by someone with a prior marijuana conviction is now open for business.
7 News' Pheben Kassahun was there when Dank 716 welcomed customers for the first time.
It is a monumental moment for Western New York.
4:20 p.m. rang in the start of "Dank 716".
It was so dank, dozens lining up in front of the region's first "caurd"-licensed cannabis dispensary.
One person even made a stop while visiting from Chicago.
"I was here for a passport appointment and this just happened to be happening at the same time. I was like, I'll come through," John Pendleton said.
Manufacturers like Batavia's Empire Hemp Co. said taking part in the dank event is an honor.
"We have a full line of gummies, vape cards or different flower products like pre-rolls and whole flower," Empire Hemp Co. CEO, Chris VanDusen said. "We basically take the raw flowers and the cultivators. We cultivate ourselves and then we turn that product and extract the cannabinoids out of it, the terpenes out of it, and then we create our products out of that flower material."
For owner, Aaron Vancamp, it is humbling after being incarcerated for about seven years for selling marijuana, back in 2010. He was released in 2017.
This is all thanks to the Cannabis Control Board voting to advance regulations that set aside the first round of retail licenses for those with previous marijuana convictions, in March 2022.
"If someone asked me if I would change things, yes, I would have been good initially but I am not upset that they are trying to do something to help transition us back into society and so something well for us," Dank owner, Aaron Vancamp explained.
