for The New York Times: New York State Convicted Him. Now It’s Made Him a Weed Pioneer. by José A. Alvarado Jr.

News

for The New York Times: New York State Convicted Him. Now It’s Made Him a Weed Pioneer.

josé a. alvarado jr.

Jan 25, 2023

Location: New York City

Summary

Roland Conner became the first person with a criminal conviction to open a licensed cannabis dispensary in New York with the state’s help.

Roland Conner’s first foray into the weed business as a teenager in the early 1990s resulted in a string of arrests and convictions on possession and other charges.

Now, at 50, he is returning to the industry, this time with the state’s full support. Mr. Conner, who grew up in public housing in Far Rockaway, Queens, opened a dispensary on Tuesday in Greenwich Village under a state initiative to give people convicted of offenses related to cannabis a head start in the newly legal business.

The shop, Smacked!, is just the second licensed store to open since the state legalized recreational cannabis in March 2021. But Mr. Conner is the first entrepreneur with a marijuana conviction to open a dispensary as a result of the initiative, which is being watched across the country.

Photographed for The New York Times, with words by Ashley Southall.

New York State Convicted Him. Now It’s Made Him a Weed Pioneer.
Roland Conner became the first person with a criminal conviction to open a licensed cannabis dispensary in New York with the state’s help.
Nytimes.com

644

José A. Alvarado Jr.

Also by José A. Alvarado Jr. —

for The New Yorker: A Journey from Homelessness to a Room of One’s Own

for The New York Times: His Job Helping Drug Users Is Illegal. He Says He Does It to Save Lives.

for NPR: As NYC limits access to migrants and asylum seekers, many are left homeless

for The New York Times: Vital Places of Refuge in the Bronx, Community Gardens Gain Recognition

for The New York Times: Her Social Club Isn’t Going Anywhere. Toñita Has No Plans to Quit.

for The New York Times: With Veto Override on Housing, City Council Deepens Conflict With Adams

for NPR: 50 years ago, teenagers partied in the Bronx — and gave rise to hip-hop

for The New York Times: Six Charged With Organizing Illegal Donations to Adams’s 2021 Campaign

for The Washington Post: A catatonic woman awakened after 20 years. Her story may change psychiatry.

for The New York Times: A Crisis Zone for E-Bike Battery Fires

for The New York Times: How E-Bike Battery Fires Became a Deadly Crisis in New York City

for ABC News Studios: "Hip Hop at 50: Rhythms, Rhymes & Reflections - A SoulOfANation Presentation

for NPR: How two big Wall Street banks are rethinking the office for a post-pandemic future

for The Wall Street Journal: The Brilliant Math Coach Teaching America’s Kids to Outsmart AI

for Stat News: ‘A textbook case of environmental racism’: The battle over the Brookhaven Landfill

for Photoville: Calories of Power; Comida

for The New Yorker: The Far-Seeing Faith of Tim Keller

for The Guardian: ‘Amazon doesn’t care about books’: how Barnes & Noble bounced back

for NPR: See how the Trump indictment day unfolded

for NPR: What Trump's arraignment means for his 2024 election bid

for Gothamist: Delivery workers say latest NYC e-bike safety bills don't give enough support

for Gothamist: Garifunas in NYC celebrate heritage month as they continue decadeslong quest for recognition

for Gothamist: 'A beacon of hope': 3 years after COVID-19 devastated Queens, Corona Plaza becomes bustling market

for The New York Times: Inside a Brooklyn School Teaching the Course That Florida Banned