Hell Square High: More than a Dozen Cannabis Shops Selling in Small LES Area
Growing like weeds.
The proliferation, and concentration, of cannabis stores on the Lower East Side is real. Overrun would be the proper descriptor.
One need only look to Hell Square, the chaotic party zone encompassing the sixteen-square-block area spanning Allen to Essex and Houston to Delancey.
Not including the roving trucks, there are at least a dozen stores selling cannabis, either exclusively or alongside other related products. And most of these shops opened within the last six months. Some like Granny Za’s and Street Lawyer Services sell so-called “digital art,” and gifting buyers with weed. (Under the law, it’s legal to transfer up to three ounces of cannabis to someone 21 or older as long as there’s no compensation involved.)
Photo: Clayton Patterson
Also worth mentioning are the “Exotic Snack” establishments – while they aren’t selling cannabis goods, some neighborhood activists believe these to be “placeholder” businesses until the time is ripe.
This multiplication is likely owed to the state’s legalization of marijuana for adult use last March, and the simultaneous reduction of penalties for unlawful sales.
Here are the establishments within Hell Square:
Empire Cannabis Club (172 Allen Street)
Dubai (105 Stanton Street)
Cloud Smoke Shop (101 Ludlow Street)
Go Zaza (110 Delancey Street)
Granny Za’s (81 Rivington Street)
Hemp Garden (158 Orchard Street)
Smoke Shop (163 Orchard Street)
Mamba Smoke Shop 24/7 (182 Allen Street)
Smokers Only (201 Allen Street)
Hemped NYC (199 Orchard)
Orchard Smoke and Convenience (186 Orchard Street)
Street Lawyer Services (85 Stanton Street)
EZ Smoke Shop (141 Essex Street)
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