Long Island cannabis dispensaries are peddling the priciest pot in New York — while outselling every other region, according to new state data.
Licensed pot shops in Nassau and Suffolk counties charged an average of $41 for 3.5 grams in 2024 — the highest average price per unit for weed in New York — leaving them generating more retail cash than all of the five boroughs, the Hudson Valley and every upstate region despite having far fewer stores available, according to the latest figures from the state Office of Cannabis Management.
Long Island accounted for 11 percent of statewide retail sales while representing just 3 percent of dispensaries, state data shows.
Long Island cannabis dispensaries — like Planet Nugg in East Farmingdale — are selling the most expensive legal marijuana in New York state. Google Maps
Pot prices have plummeted an average 17% in New York since ganja was first legally sold here in late 2022. But Long Island smokers are still paying more per pack than buyers in the next most expensive regions in Mohawk Valley, and New York City, according to state data.
But despite the massive boom in Long Island’s legal cannabis industry, some smokers told The Post that the prices keep them looking elsewhere.
“The legal prices are absolutely deterring me from buying from these stores,” said David Gonzales, who decided to grow his own weed since it became legal.
Long Island also is home to only about six legal dispensaries from end to end between both counties.
“There are not a lot of dispensaries on Long Island, and they know this, so they charge ridiculous prices and do whatever they want because they know at the end of the day people are still going to come in and pay it,” Gonzales said.
Cannabis products for sale inside Strain Stars Cannabis Dispensary & Delivery in East Farmingdale. Google Maps
Dispensaries raked in nearly $4 million in tax revenue for Suffolk County last year alone, with each storefront averaging $20 million in sales apiece, by far the most in the state, according to OCM data and figures from Suffolk Comptroller’s Office.
Some smokers said they prefer the legal market despite the price because they know the products they’re purchasing are tested and safe from pesticides and any other chemicals or cutting agents.
Raushaun Robinson, an avid Long Island pot smoker, said he mostly attempts to avoid dispensaries because of the prices but does occasionally go to purchase “shake,” which are essentially weed crumbs that fall off the plant during the growing process and are sold cheap for consumption.
Robinson said he also can get 28 grams of California cannabis, which he said smells, tastes, and smokes better than legal weed in New York, from his tax-free street dealer for anywhere between $130 to $160.
That same amount of pot in a legal Long Island storefront goes for roughly $200 or more, according to local dispensary menus.
State regulators said they expect prices to keep softening as more stores open statewide but warned that if costs rise too quickly, that could destabilize growers and retailers.