My home state of New York legalized adult use recreational cannabis in 2021. It was a slow rollout, and some municipalities made the decision to not allow recreational sales within their jurisdictions.

The state of New York has 62 counties which it breaks down into fourteen regions. Note that each borough of NYC is its own region in this categorization (Richmond is Staten Island). Here is a bar chart of the New York regions by population:

Cannabis retail locations by region

I live in the most populated region, Long Island. The Long Island region contains two counties: Nassau and Suffolk, which are the fourth and sixth most populated counties in New York, respectively. While you will currently find 22 legal adult use cannabis retail locations in Suffolk County, Nassau is one of only seven New York counties with a grand total of ZERO places for adults to legally purchase recreational cannabis.

Let's take a look at that regional population chart again but this time overlaid with the total number of cannabis retailers in each region. This makes it easy to see how underserved Long Island is:

Let's look at it a little differently. I calculated the number of retailers per person for each region:

Residents of the capital district (Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, and Washington counties) seem to have quite a lot of retail options! Once again you can see my poor Long Island at the bottom, followed by The Bronx.

Of course there are many factors going on here. The NYC and Long Island regions are more densely populated than most others. So even though someplace like The Bronx has relatively few stores per population, it's very likely most people live pretty close to one.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it's really easy to get to Manhattan and Westchester County (part of the Mid-Hudson region) from The Bronx and of course New Yorkers are free to roam and shop in different counties.

Long Island, specifically

Circling back to Long Island, which I have determined is underserved, and specifically Nassau County, which has zero recreational cannabis for sale. The local politicians here have actually made quite a spectacle of their anti-cannabis views. In 2025, elected officals from Nassau County actually tried to block the opening of a cannabis dispensary in Queens, claiming it was too close to the border.

Every resident of Nassau County lives less than a 30 minute drive from a legal recreational cannabis dispensary. There are three literally right on the border with Suffolk County. And of course many in Queens. Also keep in mind that many Nassau residents work in various places in NYC and are able to make purchases there. ALSO! Every single square foot of Nassau County is in the delivery zone of some of the aforementioned Suffolk and Queens dispensaries.

It really makes you wonder why Nassau County has chosen not to participate! The Suffolk County town of East Farmingdale, which borders the Nassau County town of Farmingdale, has had record tax revenue. Nassau elected officials should realize that they're turning down tax money. Do they realize this? If you know any Nassau County policticians, please show them this and give them my contact info!

Final thoughts and future explorations

As a kid growing up in NYC in the 1990s, I did not realistically expect cannabis to be legal in my home state during my life. I certainly hoped it would be, but it seemed unlikely. So I've been happily observing first medicinal, and now recreational cannabis becoming more common. It's frustrating when the place you live in is slow to get with the program, but I have hope and see lots of opportunity here.

In the mean time, I'd love to get my hands on some more New York-specific cannabis data. If any dispensary in Suffolk County or Queens wants to let me know how many deliveries they make to Nassau County, I'll make you a free dashboard!