BY SAMANTHA CHRISTMANN
March 28, 2024
Giambra's longtime pot advocacy continues with new dispensary
Former Erie County Executive Joel Giambra has been a vocal proponent of cannabis for a long time.
"I think the headline was 'Giambra wants to legalize drugs' or something like that. Twenty years ago, that was like dropping a bomb on the Buffalo Zoo," Giambra said. "We took some criticism. A lot of criticism."
Now, public opinion – and New York State law – have come around to his way of thinking, and Giambra is co-owner of a new state-licensed recreational cannabis dispensary called Honey at 2981 Delaware Ave. in Kenmore with business partner Darcell Thomas.
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Thomas' past cannabis conviction in New York State made the pair eligible for the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary program, which granted dispensary licenses to justice-involved people as an attempt to redress communities harmed by the war on drugs.
"I have been publicly fighting prohibition of cannabis and in prohibition in general. As a student of history, it's obvious that any attempts at prohibition in the past have been public failures," Giambra said.
As a politician, he got a front row seat to see what happens when you "put people in jail for a joint," he said.
"The cost of overtime for the Buffalo Police Department and other law enforcement agencies, the court time. Having been there and seeing what's really happening with law enforcement and cannabis, it became obvious to me that prohibition was failed public policy," he said. "That's when I started talking about the need to have a thoughtful discussion about prohibition."
As he became more vocal on the subject, he began banding together with like-minded people, including the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition – a group of ex-police and prosecutors advocating for the legalization of drugs.
As a cannabis business owner, he plans to remain just as vocal on issues that affect cannabis and dispensary licensees.
"Legalizing cannabis, that's a great first step. But there are a lot of regulations the state promulgated on licensees," Giambra said.
More work needs to be done on the cannabis tax structure to help licensed dispensaries compete with the black market, he said, while maximizing revenue for the state and licensees and keeping prices reasonable for customers. Licensees are also hamstrung by laws that prevent them from advertising their products the way they want to, Giambra said.
"Now that we're in operation, we're seeing some new challenges and some of the opportunities, so we'll be able to hopefully use that to be helpful with the state as they begin to, I suspect, modify the original legislation," he said.
There is much work to be done, he said, considering the state's bumpy rollout, halted twice by lawsuits.
"This is potentially a very large industry and it has to be done properly," he said.
When Honey began hiring workers for the dispensary, it received 300 applications.
"Young professionals are very interested in getting their foot in the door in this industry, which is a really good sign," Giambra said.
The dispensary is located in a former bank branch. Banks are sought-after locations because they have vaults (state law requires dispensaries to have a safe) and drive-thrus.
"Banks are the best site for a cannabis operation based on the regulations promulgated by the state of New York," Giambra said. "The drive-thru opportunity, I think, is very attractive to customers and to us in that people will be able to order online and be able to pick up their product at the drive-thru window."
Giambra signed the lease in May.
"We have been paying rent for a long time," he said. "Real estate is one of the biggest challenges that any licensee has right now. I think there are many, but I find that the location has been one of the biggest challenges for everybody."
But real estate was just the first challenge, he said.
"The process was difficult. It was difficult for everybody," Giambra said. "Having been a student of government for so long, things don't work as fast as one would like them all the time. And when you create a brand new agency, it makes the challenge even greater. So you have the Cannabis Control Board, a brand new agency, brand new people, that had its own set of challenges."
Honey has a polished, mainstream vibe that Giambra hopes will appeal to soccer moms and other people who might be new to the cannabis market.
"We're seeing a lot of excitement from the people who live right here in the Village of Kenmore," Giambra said.
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