Busy and boring: In New Haven, Connecticut’s first legal weed shop
Leafly visited one of the state’s brand new pharmacies to sample the legit goods. Here’s what we found.
On cold weekend nights, Yale students smoke a piercing and happy gale on the sidewalks of New Haven’s posh, bar-lined downtown area. However, the city’s only pot shop offers a much more low-key vibe.
Connecticut just started legal sales a few weeks ago, on January 10th. Although state officials have so far only given nine existing medical pharmacies the green light to begin selling prescriptions, CT’s Department of Consumer Protection began accepting new business applications on Feb. 3.
Only one of the first nine stores is in New Haven. The pharmacy is called Affinity Wellness and is located just a few miles from downtown in the quaint neighborhood of Westville.
Curious to take a look in the shop yourself? Read on to learn more about Affinity’s menu, its mandatory pre-order policy, our on-site experience, and what we’re told about the shop’s only edible offering.
Lots of flowers, very limited edibles
Affinity Wellness requires all adult-use customers to place their orders in advance and select a 30-minute same-day time slot to pick them up. Fine Fettle Dispensary – which owns three of the other stores currently able to sell to adults – has implemented a similar policy.
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As for Affinity’s menu, the shop currently offers about 20 varieties in pre-packaged eighths that retail for $50-$60. The menu has ten pre-roll options to choose from, which cost around $30 per two grams of bud.
The flower comes from a handful of breeders: Advanced Grow Labs, CTPharma, and Curaleaf.
The same manufacturers also offer the shop’s wide range of vape carts.
As I prepared to place my order, I noticed that the store only had one edible available: a CBD-dominant Sour Strawberry Peach Gummy from CTPharma. A few days later I noticed that the item was no longer available in the online menu. There are two different rubber products for sale at this time.
Other Connecticut stores similarly had few edible items on their respective menus.
The atmosphere: A cheerful pharmacy
The mandatory pre-order policy offers a great incentive: you’ll be in and out in just a few minutes.
On a Sunday morning, just minutes after Affinity opened its doors, customers were already pouring in at a steady pace.
To get in, customers must identify themselves at the front door and check in before staff escort them around a corner into the shopping area, where the products for sale are not currently on display.
Customers, including medical patients, do not have an opportunity to verify what they are purchasing from Affinity. Instead, they step to a window and show their IDs one more time before a staff member picks up their pre-ordered purchase.
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I asked the Affinity employee who grabbed my gummies how the first few weeks had gone. “Busy,” she said with a smile and a wry sigh.
The gummy bears are $30 for a 20-pack. There are also a few small taxes: a $0.13 potency tax on edibles, a $0.90 municipal tax, and just under $2 for the state sales tax. Total for a 100-milligram pack of edibles: $33.
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Gummy has a nice effect and way too much sugar
CTPharma’s gummies offered a mixed experience:
CTPharma’s offerings contain around 5 milligrams of THC and 11 milligrams of CBD each. They provide a balanced and mild high that’s great for relaxing at the end of a long day.
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While the packaging is nothing special, the most notable turnoff was their flavor: These gummies are extremely sweet and coated in lots of sugar, which fell off the gummies and left a sticky mess on my hands.
Aside from the sugar content, the gummy bears are undoubtedly worth trying. But hopefully Connecticut will see bigger menus and broader access soon.
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