Central New York's first legal cannabis dispensary opened Friday in Armory Square.
Flower, vapes, prerolls and cannabis beverages are just some of the products on display at FlynnStoned Cannabis Company. Customers must be 21 years or older. They will need to show their id several times — at security before entering the building, on the ground floor at check-in and again on the check-out floor. The id will be scanned to ensure customers do not buy more than the allotted amount allowed by New York State.
Assistant Manager Catrina Aiello said budtenders, similar to a bartender, will be available to help guide customers through the different products in the dispensary.
"If you're comfortable inhaling or smoking or vaping the product, we start there," Aiello said. "If you're not too comfortable with inhalants, we go over some of the ingestible options. We have drinks now and we have gummies, like gelatin-based products. We have really an assortment of different things."
Customers peruse the products in glass cases throughout the showroom. They then let the cashier know what they are interested in buying, pay for the product, then it is brought out from the back room to the cashier and handed to the customer.
Aiello notes prices may differ from street prices because the supply in state-licensed shops is required to go through testing and regulations from seed to sale. An eighth, or 3.5 grams, of flower ranges from about $40 to $60 depending on the brand.
"This has consistency," Aiello said. "That's why you might find the prices to be a little bit higher than what you're normally used to."
Angela Flynn, wife of owner Mike Flynn, is doing event coordination for FlynnStoned. For opening weekend she said they'll be shutting down the block for a two-day party featuring music, bands, food, drinks and of course cannabis.
"We have Aryloom, which is the Beak and Skiff 1911 brand," Flynn said. "They're going to be doing uninfused samples of gummies as well as uninfused drink samples so that people can taste it, see the consistency, the texture, the taste of it before they come in and buy an infused sample."
Flynn expects the dispensary will see about $12 million in sales in the first year of operation. She anticipates thousands of people will come out opening weekend. Opening weekend sales will be cash and ATM debit.
FlynnStoned Cannabis Company officially opened for business at 4:20 p.m. Friday.
