BUFFALO, N.Y. — Puffalo Dreams is the seventh legal dispensary to open in Western New York since the state legalized recreational marijuana in 2021.
It's also the first completely woman-owned shop in Buffalo.
"It means a lot to us. We're definitely happy to be the forefront of this industry," said Bee Duangtavilay, one of the co-owners of the dispensary.
Bee and her business partner Jamie Donato Rivera first applied for the license in November 2022. Even though they were awarded the license in April of 2023, numerous lawsuits slowed down the process.
Duangtavilay and Rivera remained persistent with their goal of opening the legal dispensary.
"Being women-owned, we did face some difficulties, but it has its pluses and minuses," Duangtavilay said. "So you just have to be strong and definitely stand your ground."
One of those minuses is the continued problem of illegal dispensaries.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced another crackdown on illicit shops selling cannabis.
"These illicit vendors flagrantly violate our laws, by selling to kids, evading our taxes, and engaging in fraudulent advertising about their products," Hochul said.
Wednesday's announcement by the governor is the third crackdown announcement she has made since June 2023.
There's estimated to be thousands of illegal cannabis dispensaries throughout the state, many of them selling stickers wherein you receive a gift of cannabis.
Hochul has been transparent with her frustration about these illegal shops, but the office of cannabis management only has about three dozen enforcement officers.
"Let's give states and localities ways that they can padlock the doors number one, and shut down these flagrant violators," Hochul said. "Let's start having some teeth."
Hochul also targeted companies like Google and Facebook, who she says is allowing illegal cannabis shops to advertise on their platforms.
"We've told them flat out, you need to change this," Hochul said. "Let us give you the list of legal vendors, I know whose legal, we all know who's legal, and then you have a responsibility to make sure that you're not posting the location of illegal shops."
But Duangtavilay downplayed the concern that state officials have, mainly because she believes that costumers already know the difference.
"They know the difference between coming to a legal dispensary and going to a sticker shop or a smoke shop per se," Duangtavilay said. "We provide safe tested products and it passes rigorous testing with each product, so it's a safer environment for people to come and explore."
Even though the product might be safer, the legal shops like the one Duangtavilay operates has to kick money back to the state in the form of taxes.
The illegal shops don't.