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Plans Set For Legal Cannabis Lounge in Syracuse Plans Set For Legal Cannabis Lounge in Syracuse

Armory Square may become the home for a social cannabis lounge.

By Pa Zong Lee

Pa-Zong Lee: The Higher Calling, or THC, will be opening a social and legal weed lounge around these streets downtown. Co-Founder, Mike Golden, says that this move is important in breaking the stigma, especially for minority groups.

Mike Golden: We have, more so than ever… a… I say once in a generational… once in a lifetime opportunity, with a brand new cannabis market coming to the state, to kind of stake a claim.

Lee: A Master of Public Affairs student, Mamoudou Camara, says that legalizing cannabis isn’t enough.

Mamoudou Camara: We have a long way to go. Decriminalizing is the first step of many steps, and now its about… now its about helping restore those people we put in jail and all those penalties that they suffered when it was illegal, which we know disproportionately targeted low-income minorities.

Lee: THC hosted a Stop The Stigma Rally on Saturday at the Syracuse Inner Harbor and in this same area, they plan to hold a cannabis festival on four-twenty, a date that is widely known for it’s association with cannabis culture.

Golden: This would be the first 4/20 cannabis festival, in Central New York.

Lee: Coming soon in 2022, The Higher Calling plans to establish Syracuse’s first legal weed lounge, right here in Armory Square. In Syracuse, Pa-Zong Lee, NCC News.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — The Higher Calling (THC) is a Black-owned business that plans to open up Syracuse’s first legal and social marijuana lounge in the next year. New Yorkers of 21 years and older are now allowed to possess three ounces of cannabis for recreational use.

Read the full bill here.

Regulations are still being put in place to legalize the selling of marijuana as this prolongs the process for businesses like THC. Mike Golden and Byron Cage are the Co-Founders and have started off by selling apparel and merchandise, in addition to hosting events. The founders hosted a Stop the Stigma Rally at Syracuse’s Inner Harbor in an effort to encourage more people of color to enter the business.

Hoping to establish the lounge in the second quarter of next year, they are currently deciding between two locations in downtown Syracuse, specifically Armory Square. 

“I haven’t seen any Black business owners down there, and I feel like that needs to change,” said Cage.

Golden is hoping to see more minority communities entering the business, where 81% of the cannabis industry is filled with white business owners and founders, according to a 2017 survey from Marijuana Business Daily.

“In my seeking knowledge, I was noticing that there wasn’t enough people that looked like me on these Zooms and on these webinars and conference calls, so I wanted to do something about that,” said Golden.

Mamoudou Camara, a graduate student studying public affairs at Syracuse University, said legalizing marijuana isn’t enough to destigmatize. A key factor in this topic is the racially disproportionate rates of arrests for marijuana possession.

While using marijuana at similar rates, Black individuals are 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white individuals, according to a 2020 study done by the ACLU. Even in states where weed is decriminalized or legalized, there are still racial disparities in the arrests.

“This is the first step of many steps and we’re happy for progress, but it’s a long journey to go,” said Camara.

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