NYS Office of Cannabis Management ED Chris Alexander, right (photo: @nys_cannabis)

Nearly two years after passage of the Marihuana Legalization and Taxation Act (MRTA), which legalized the once heavily-criminalized drug, the first legal retail sale of marijuana in New York occurred on Thursday, December 29.

"The first legal adult-use cannabis sales mark a historic milestone in New York's cannabis industry," Governor Hochul said in a celebratory press release that day. "Today is only the beginning, and I look forward to

Announcing 'Cannabis NYC' (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

It’s no secret that the War on Drugs has disproportionately impacted people of color in the United  States, leading to the scourge of mass incarceration. In 2010, the ACLU released an analysis on cannabis convictions, showing that Black people in New York state were 4.5 times more likely to  get arrested for possession of cannabis than white people even though both groups use it at the  same rate. Ten