We hit licensed stores and legacy Zaza providerswithin a 4.20 mile radius of NYC’s first legal weed stores: Here’s what we found.
Manhattan is home to three legal weed stores, with dozens more set to open on a rolling basis in the coming months. There are also around 40 medical dispensaries throughout the city and state, plus indigenous providers located upstate, and countless traditional market operators serving loyal customers for years.
But there are also thousands of unlicensed stores posing as legal retailers across the city. State officials and many legacy operators agree that these shops threaten the state’s budding legal market, because they mislead customers and flood the city with unregulated, sometimes contaminated, products.
Discover New York’s legal weed stores
Discover New York’s weed stores![How and where to buy legal weed in New York [Updated February 2023] image](https://leafly-cms-production.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/23134923/51D15D12-93BF-45C3-A415-EA63853FE890.jpeg?auto=compress,format&w=177&dpr=2)
To sort through New York’s sea of strains and brands, we took a bud crawl across the city’s three legal stores, plus a handful of local legacy sellers nearby. Below, we reviewed it all by price, presentation, and quality. Here’s what New York City is smoking in 2023
Rating New York City’s licensed cannabis products
Housing Works
Venom OG by Lobo
- Price: $60 per eighth, $12 per pre-roll
- Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
- How is it smoking?: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
“Lobo’s Venom OG is an indica-dominant strain that comes in understated but classy packaging. The nugs aren’t large or fluffy, and they have significant stems, which contribute to the weight, but not the smoke. Despite breaking down a bit dry, the smoke and accompanying high were smooth and intense. Despite the doubters who are skeptical of NY’s homegrown crop, I was left impressed that this Venom OG delivered on the mid-20s % THC promise.”
Amelia Williams
“The Venom OG nugs looked malnourished, but the smoke was rich. Lobo has built a great rep in other states (plus Canada), so its rapid New York takeover is no surprise. So far, Lobo’s flower and pre-rolls are available in all of New York’s legal weed stores. And this Venom OG lives up to the top billing with a mix of piney aromas and sharp chemical funk. The Lobo Minis pre-rolls were a great side dish. They were immaculately rolled, and the flower was above your standard pre-roll in terms of freshness and flavor. The pre-roll packaging also elevated the experience. It’s a collector’s item you’ll want to use as an extra stash box.“
Calvin Stovall
La Bomba by Florist Farms
- Price: $60 per eighth
- Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
- Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
La Bomba didn’t make me drowsy or too relaxed, and it helped me through the yoga flow while keeping me present and focused. La Bomba was the bomb, but sadly, the bonus pre-roll of RiRi I also grabbed from Florist Farms was not as memorable.
Smacked Village
Purple Punch by Fat Nell
Price: $40 per eighth
Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
“I normally pass on Purple Punch, but this version really impressed me. It was flavorful with berrylicious, astringent grape notes, frosty buds, and good structure. Plus, the moisture, texture, and soothing effects have forever changed my mind on what Purple Punch is capable of. I also appreciate the bag and branding from Fat Nell, a woman-led local brand.”
Amelia Williams
Union Square Travel Agency (USQTA)
oHHo preroll Northern Critical
oHHo preroll Northern Critical
Price: $56 per eighth
Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (4.5/5)
Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (3.5/5)
Prerolls get a bad rap, namely because they often use old trim and bottom-of-the-barrel material. But oHHo’s Northern Critical indica pre roll was pleasantly–not terrible. While it’s less than a standard gram of flower, the joint stayed burned evenly throughout, and the flavor was slightly earthy, with a little pepper. I was hoping for deeper fruity or diesel-laden notes, but the high was on par with 20% THC label.
Amelia Williams
High Falls Canna Cinderella 99
Price: $60 per eighth
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Showing you dispensaries nearPresentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
This flower from High Falls surprised me. It only contains 15% THC with 1% CBD, but only a bowl or two were necessary to achieve a nice creative, work-friendly, or video game focus high. The cheesy, skunky flavor of Cindy-99 came through consistently, with nice buds that were forgivably dry, considering the treasured old school buzz.
Amelia Williams
Hudson Cannabis Papa Smurf
Price: $8.85 per .5 gram
Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (4.5/5)
$10 for a half a gram?! These throwback dime bags are delivered in a mylar bag and stuffed with one fat nug, just like back in the day. Papa Smurf is a sativa-dominant cultivar that delivers a nice heady feeling on first smoke. The bud has decent moisture and structure, and the surface is extra frosty. The aroma was sharp, not fruity or sweet, so I’m guessing there is some diesel heritage in its genetic line.
Amelia Williams
Rating New York City’s legacy cannabis products
From gift shops to private clubs, we smoked 12 legacy strains to see what the tried and true pioneers of New York cannabis have to offer.
Golden Haze by LIZM
Price: $50 per eighth
Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
After smoking LIZM’s Haze, I’d have to agree that they’re officially bringing classic Haze back. The product was frosty, funky, and fire. The lime-green buds had that light parmesan aroma, and sticky, almost choppy-looking buds that make Haze haze. I tried to make this pack last as long as I could, because I needed so little to get me into a fun headspace for hanging with friends, running errands, or playing my farming simulation computer games. The euphoria is there, the goofiness is there, the little headrush was most welcome. This is my #1 pick out of all the New York flower I’ve enjoyed so far.
Amelia Williams
OG Haze from 770 Monster
Price: $40 per eighth
Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (4.5/5)
Real purple haze isn’t purple, it comes with fluffy red hairs that resemble Peggy Bundy’s ’90s hairdo. True Haze heads might end up married with children if they get their hands on this updated reboot of classic NYC genetics.
Calvin Stovall
Dex Lauper by Purp Invaders
Price: $50 per eighth
Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (4.5/5)
Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
The middle finger bag’s strain is Dex Lauper, a stoney hybrid that still allows you to function while floating. The bag had a nice gassy nose even after months of sitting in The Smoker’s Club historic catalog. The high was good for playing video games and watching videos or a movie. But definitely not a social weed smoke for me.
Amelia Williams
Grand Slam OG by The Smoker’s Club (pictured above)
Price: $50 per eighth
Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
Grand Slam OG carried a strong locker room funk and it smoked just as strong as advertised, considering New York’s Kush God, Smoke DZA, is pictured on the packaging. The nugs were small and kind of distressed but still packed their original punch. Overall, a home run high that will leave any OG-lover wanting more.
Calvin Stovall
Madison Square GUMBO by FlyTrap
GUMBO by FlyTrap
Price: $50 per eighth
Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4.5/5)
Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
The Spike Lee GUMBO pack we got our hands on had that exotic spice that’s makes GUMBO one of the most mysterious but sought after strains nationwide. Soft to the touch, easy to break down, endlessly flavorful, GUMBO’s name will continue to ring on the legacy and gray markets as New Yorkers wait to buy licensed GUMBO packs from Cookies, and GUMBO co-founders Luka Brazi and Alex Major.
Calvin Stovall
Coochie Runtz by Runtz
Price: $80 per eighth
Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
Quality: 🔥🔥🔥💨💨 (3.5/5)
This is solid zaza smoke, another well-grown Lemon Cherry Gelato descendant. No complaints here, besides the price and availability. Just don’t buy Coochie Runtz expecting arousing effects (unless the packaging get the job done for you). But buyer beware, the city is also full of imitation Runtz.
Calvin Stovall
Knockout by Jim Jones x High Tolerance
Price: $50 per eighth
Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (4.5/5)
Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
The buds are fluffy to the touch, but this strong purple flower hits hard from the first pull, and carries an intense high that will put you out for the count if you’re not a heavyweight. Named and branded by Harlem legend Jim Jones, this strong pack is sure to make noise in 2023 as more New Yorkers get their hands on it, and as High Tolerance finds ways to get it into licensed stores.
Mikhail Harrison
I Can’t Feel My Face by Juelz Santana x High Tolerance
- Price: $50 per eighth
- Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
- Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
Hard to get, but worth the chase. From the very first pull down to the last drag, this frosty deep purple flower out performs most celebrity weed brands. It was hand picked for a concentrated high that will reset one’s sensory system. Definitely a nighttime strain, and by no means made for beginner smokers. The high price point (73.00 per eighth) should keep beginners away. This hard-to-find flavor is doing numbers in California, but it’s also flooding the streets and weed stores of NYC and the rest of the East Coast. The head-banging experience numbs your mind and takes you back to classic purple exotics of the 2000s, when Santana was buzzing as one of New York City’s hottest artists.
Dan Reagans
Gusherz by City Gold
Price: $50 per eighth
Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
City Gold has a subdued brand identity, but the weed speaks volumes! The Gusherz comes with that piney, diesel smell, plus hints of fruit and dark purple buds. The taste was sharp, even after a week. Good density. Smoked flavorful and stony.
Amelia Williams
This is one of the best strains I had this past year. The rich outdoorsy smell, the slightly fruity taste, and the incredibly powerful effects set the bar so high that it took weeks to find a worthy East Coast pack to follow this one. Not to mention, incredibly professional service from the dispatcher and delivery driver. I will definitely be shopping with this provider again and hope they get licensed by the state ASAP.
Calvin Stovall
Tropicana Cookies by New Amsterdam
- Price: $50 per eighth
- Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
- Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (4.5/5)
Legacy growers from the New Amsterdam team are growing some of the freshest most delicious buds around, and waiting patiently to join the licensed market. These buds smell incredible, and smoke great in the morning leaving a strong orange aftertaste and mind-clearing buzz. After years of perfecting the cultivation and distribution side of NYC’s underground market, New Amsterdam is poised to elevate the licensed market for years to come.
Calvin Stovall
Gorilla Glue #4 by Nature Always Wins
- Price: $50 per eighth
- Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
- Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (4.5/5)
The legacy growers at Nature Always Wins are giving the people what they want with this phenomenal GG4, grown organically in New York. GG4 is the most popular strain in New York, according to Leafly search data. And this bag stands up next to the very best with sour gassy notes and an earthy piney freshness that will satisfy 90s and 2000s era smokers who miss that classic skunky funk.
Mikhail Harrison
Green Eggs & Ham from Conchiss
- Price: $45 per eighth
- Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
- Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
I was told this came from an elite Massachusetts grower named Conchiss with strong connections in NYC. It’s by far the freshest and stickiest bud on this list, a clear mark of expert curing and peak freshness. Incredible for daytime relaxation, and suitable for nighttime creativity–I look forward to the day when this level of smoke is available in all New York stores.
Calvin Stovall
Apple Monkey
- Price: $60 per eighth
- Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
- Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
Boo J’s Sweet Tooth & Gas House
- Price: $50 per eighth
- Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
- Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
- Price: $50 per eighth
- Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
- Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5)
Gas Cream Cake
- Price: $35 per eighth
- Presentation: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
- Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥💨 (4/5)
Gastro Pop by Compound Genetics debuted in late 2022 as one of many modern reboots bringing classic gas into the new age of exotic dessert strains. This legacy-grown strain of Gas Cream Cake hits all the same notes as Gastro Pop, giving both OG and new age smokers a common ground to get high on.
Calvin Stovall
Dan Reagans and Tash Patwary contributed to this article.
