Katerina Belales

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Feb 20, 2024, 5:57 AM

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Updated

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Today marks a historic moment for the City of Mount Vernon as it celebrates the grand opening of its first cannabis dispensary.

Elevate Cannabis Dispensary not only holds the honor of being the inaugural cannabis dispensary in Mount Vernon but also claims the title of the first in Westchester County.

The official grand opening ceremony took place at 11 a.m. on South Terrace Avenue. While the store had a soft launch opening back on Dec. 5, today's event marks a significant milestone.

Although recreational marijuana has been legal in New York since 2021, the process of granting licenses to dispensaries has been slow. Elevate New York received its license on Dec. 4, and the soft opening followed shortly after a judge approved a settlement to end lawsuits that had hindered the state's retail marijuana licensing program.

Just this past Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state's Cannabis Control Board had voted to approve the first non-conditional adult-use cannabis licenses for those who applied since Oct. 4, issuing a total of 109 licenses.