Medical marijuana companies can now sell recreational weed in New York City

UNION SQUARE, Manhattan (PIX11) -- If it seems like there's a cannabis shop everywhere you look, it's likely because there are so many -- one every seven blocks on average, throughout the five boroughs of New York City.

Because almost all of them are illegal in New York State, some of the few legal shops are welcoming a regulatory change that allows longstanding legal medical marijuana shops to expand into recreational cannabis sales. 

The change comes exactly a year after recreational marijuana became legal in New York State. It also coincides with the end of the first holiday season ever in which recreational cannabis has been legal. 

At Union Square Travel Agency, a high-end recreational cannabis retailer, on Tuesday, Mike Conway, the company's vice president of retail, spoke about the new change and its effect on his company's business. 

"While, of course, more competition takes some market share, [and] takes some customers potentially," he said, "I think we have a great shop, so I'm not too worried. It's good to have more access to safe cannabis out there."

The new move, approved last Friday by the New York Office of Cannabis Management, allows six medical marijuana dispensaries to begin selling cannabis for recreational use. 

The dispensaries are all owned by large national cannabis companies. 

There are six of them, four based in New York: Columbia Care, Curaleaf, NYCanna, and PharmaCann.  

The other three are Etain, from Canada, and Valley Agriceuticals, based in Chicago.

To reflect the change from medical marijuana to recreational cannabis, Columbia Care has changed its name to Cannabist. 

It is now not only a competitor to other legal recreational cannabis companies. It and the other six companies are also competing against the 1,500 illegal cannabis stores across the city. 

The number of legal shops is minuscule: 12. That number will grow with this new change, but apparently not by much. 

Still, some customers at The Union Square Travel Agency said that having more inspected and licensed shops -- even if it's only a few -- is a plus. 

"There's a lot of illegal shops and a lot of shady products out there," said Courtney Nischan, a Connecticut resident who was shopping at Union Square Travel Agency. "Why not play it safe," she added, "especially around the holidays."

The medical marijuana expansion into recreational cannabis begins on Dec. 29.