HAVERSTRAW – A substance abuse counselor and his wife are opening the town’s first cannabis dispensary Wednesday, adding to several cannabis dispensaries already open in Rockland County.
The ribbon cutting for Haverstraw’s 202 Cannabis Co. is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on May 7, at 81 West Ramapo Road, also known as Route 202.
Rockland already has a dispensary in Bardonia on Route 304 and a second one planned for Nyack inside the former Starbucks in the downtown business district. The village’s first dispensary is at a former car dealership on Route 59, entering the riverfront village.
What will 202 Cannabis Co. sell in Haverstraw?
202 Cannabis Co. will offer customers a curated selection of products meant to specifically meet the needs of cannabis consumers and those eager to learn more about how cannabis can improve their lives, according to the owners, Gregory and Milka Pereira.
The store’s shelves will offer a variety of brands of cannabis flower, edibles, vape pens and cartridges, hash and hash oils, and a variety of specialty products, including vegan and kosher products.
The store’s budtenders are cannabis experts who can help those who have been smoking and eating edibles for decades, and those curious to try cannabis for the first time find the right products for them, Pereira said.
202 Cannabis Co. owners work with people in addiction recovery
Gregory Pereira works with people struggling with drug addiction and alcoholism, helping them get their driving privileges back.
“Opening this dispensary is a dream come true,” he said, “but it’s more than just about selling safer, high-quality cannabis; it’s a launching pad for so much I want to do with the community.”
Pereira said cannabis can be a healer for people in pain.
“As someone who works closely with those struggling with drug addiction, I know how powerful cannabis can be in helping individuals, especially veterans, quit addictive pain killers, quit heroin, quit fentanyl, and get their lives back,” Pereira said.
Dispensaries became legal with the New York’s legalization of cannabis in 2021. The State Office of Cannabis Management was created to license and regulate dispensaries. The law required municipalities to decide to opt in or out of allowing dispensaries by December 31, 2021. After that date, municipalities that opted in would no longer be allowed to retract their decision.
The dispensaries can be recreational or medical. They are expected to generate jobs and taxes.
Where are other Rockland County cannabis dispensaries?
The Sunnyside Medical Cannabis Dispensary got licensed and opened on Route 304 in Bardonia in January 2019. The dispensary offered the first Rockland storefront and home delivery services.
The Treehouse Cannabis became the first licensed adult-use recreational cannabis dispensary in the county when it opened at the former car dealership on Route 59 in Nyack in August 2024. The state’s Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary program also allows business owners who have been affected by discriminatory marijuana-related incarceration to legally obtain a license to sell cannabis products.
Plans for a dispensary at the former Starbucks in Nyack have met with some resistance, though the village government voted to opt into allowing cannabis businesses.
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com Twitter: @lohudlegal
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