Itâs a farmersâ market for the stoner set!
Manhattanâs troubled Washington Square Park has reached a new low â with brazen drug dealers illegally selling weed from tables laden with pre-rolled joints and jars of pot conveniently labeled so choosy customers can select their favorite strains.
Five separate groups of weed vendors offered their wares in broad daylight around the fountain across from the parkâs famed arch as tourists, families and New York University students packed the plaza in Greenwich Village on Sunday afternoon.
âWeâre not supposed to, but we do it,ââ said one of the ganja peddlers, who gave his name as âGhost.â
The dealer openly acknowledged that he was selling âpure marijuanaâ in pre-rolled joints for $20 each or two for $30.
Although disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana for adults in March, legal sales arenât expected to begin at least sometime next year and will remain illegal until then.
âMy strains are Grenadine Purple, Himalayan Gold and OG Kush mixed as one blend,â âGhostâ crowed.
âI kick all the shakes together, have a personal roller roll them up, one shot. So you have three flavors in one blend.â
He added: âI smoked three rolls this morning. Youâll be able to focus at work. If you want to go to sleep just take this, youâll be out the whole night.â
In addition to a glass jar holding the joints, his table was covered with sealed, brightly colored plastic pouches labeled with brand names including âApricot Gelato,â âCookies & Cream,â âTruffle Pieâ and âGorilla Cake.â
Some of the containers had see-through windows that showed the buds inside, and most were marked with a California warning symbol for cannabis products.
âHonestly, itâs great,â said a 19-year-old NYU student who gave his name as âDennyâ after buying two joints from Ghostâs table.
âI donât love to roll my own, so the convenience is awesome, and also the novelty of it â an open-air cannabis market in New York,â Denny said, adding that heâs been patronizing the peddler at least twice a week for the past three weeks.
âMy parents went to NYU, and they had to go to Amsterdam for this kind of scene, so I was definitely born at the right time.â
Another dealer said he and a pair of pals began selling weed in the popular recreation area about two weeks ago.
âWe came to the park one day and saw a bunch of tables set up, and were like, âFâk it, letâs try and see if we can do it,â he said.
The dealers, who call their enterprise âCertz,â sell pre-rolled joints for $10 to $50 each, depending on the quality and amount of weed used, as well as bags of buds and marijuana-infused edibles smuggled from the Golden State.
Business is briskest on Fridays and Saturdays, he said, âespecially at night, up until the park closes.
âThis whole fâkinâ circle is flooded with like 50 tables of people selling everything âclothes, candles paintings,â he said.
âOf those, there are 10 or 15 marijuana tables. It gets crazy. It gets flooded.â
Another seller who calls his business âDoe Boyz Cannabisâ was busy Sunday rolling joints of what he said was âSour Dieselâ before setting up a table to sell them for $10 each.
âPure marijuana. The cleanest,â he said.
âIâm giving you the good sât. I donât just care about the selling. Itâs my concern to have the good stuff. Quality is priority. You can smoke it right next to me.â
Asked about the legality of what they were doing, the Certz dealer said, âI donât know sât about that,â while the Doe Boyz dealer claimed, âThereâs no laws about it yet. This is like Iâm selling tobacco.â
He added: âWhen they start giving out the permits, weâre gonna open up our own dispensary. Itâs like weâre promoting the brand.â
A young woman who bought a $40 bag of âTruffle Pieâ buds said she was âreally excited to try it out.â
âThey were really cool about it, very knowledgeable,â she said of the drug peddlers.
âThey said  it mellows you out, but not too much, and itâs great for focus, which is exactly what I need.
âThatâs what I like best about the whole market concept: this idea that I can actually ask questions before making a purchase. Itâs like going to an outdoor pharmacy.â
The emergence of Washington Squareâs âgreenâ market follows outrage over a recent slew of illegal activities there, including raucous raves, fireworks displays and underground boxing matches that were complete with a timekeeper and referee.
It also developed despite Mayor Bill de Blasioâs recent pledge to âset the right parametersâ and address âquality-of-life concernsâ there.
The NYPD didnât immediately respond to a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Tina Moore
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