Manhattan's first medicinal marijuana dispensary is now for lease on 14th Street

A for-rent sign has arrived on the front doors of 212 E. 14th St., just east of Third Avenue. 

As you may recall, this space was previously Columbia Care, Manhattan's first medicinal marijuana dispensary. This outpost closed at the end of May without much fanfare, in contrast to the hoopla surrounding its opening in January 2016. 

Here, the medical conditions approved for marijuana prescriptions were limited to cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis, among several others. In addition, the NYC dispensaries would only sell 30-day supplies of marijuana in the form of oils, pills or tinctures. (Columbia Care still has an outpost out in Riverhead.)

And what came next: In March 2021, New York State legalized adult-use cannabis by passing the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act. That legislation created the Office of Cannabis Management, governed by a Cannabis Control Board to oversee and implement the law. 

Since then, we've seen the arrival of legal and, mostly, unlicensed cannabis shops around the city. 

Columbia Care originally signed a five-year lease with a five-year renewal option. The Super Saving Store closed in 2011 and was the last retail tenant before the building underwent a gut renovation/expansion. 

Still, despite the for-lease sign, Community Board 3's Cannabis Control Task Force will hear an application for the address for a business called Flower Guys (Dai Ma LLC) this month. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• New East 14th Street retail space already gone to pot 

• Columbia Care brands its marijuana dispensary on East 14th Street 

• A patient visit to the medical marijuana dispensary on 14th Street

Medical marijuana now for sale on East 14th Street

Columbia Care, one of NYC's first medicinal marijuana dispensaries, opens today at 212 E. 14th St., just east of Third Avenue.

As previously noted, the medical conditions approved for marijuana prescriptions are limited to cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, among several others. In addition, the NYC dispensaries will only sell 30-day supplies of marijuana in the form of oils, pills or tinctures.

CNBC toured the facility... per their report:

The dispensary's exterior is intentionally discreet, lacking marijuana plant designs so commonly seen around the country. There are five security cameras out front, and patients will be buzzed in after showing medicinal program cards. Once inside, customers are invited back to the pharmacy area. The interior space is modern and warm, not sterile like a doctor's office.

But key larger questions remain including how many medical practitioners will participate in the program, and recommend medicinal marijuana to patients.

Also, health insurance does not cover medical marijuana so patients will have to pay out of pocket. Columbia Care will run a separate program for low-income patients. The company has submitted its consumer-facing price proposals to the state for approval.

Previously on EV Grieve:
New East 14th Street retail space already gone to pot

Columbia Care brands its marijuana dispensary on East 14th Street

Columbia Care brands its marijuana dispensary on East 14th Street

The branding for Columbia Care has arrived at 212 E. 14th St. just east of Third Avenue.

Columbia Care is one of the five companies selected to run medical marijuana dispensaries in New York

Looks like a low-key entrance ... (not sure if anyone was expecting some kind of marijuana symbol or something...)



As DNAinfo previously reported, the medical conditions approved for marijuana prescriptions are limited to cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, among several others. In addition, the NYC dispensaries will only sell 30-day supplies of marijuana in the form of oils, pills or tinctures.

212 E. 14th St. received a full gut renovation with an additional floor. The last business at the address was the Super Saving Store, which closed in June 2011.

Previously on EV Grieve:
New East 14th Street retail space already gone to pot

New East 14th Street retail space already gone to pot

There's news about the new retail tenant at 212 E. 14th St., a building that is coming off a two-year gut renovation with one-floor extension here just east of Third Avenue.

Columbia Care NY signed a lease to occupy 3,500 square feet here, as The Real Deal reported. Columbia Care is one of the five companies selected to run medical marijuana dispensaries in New York.

However, this won't be like buying a bag of weed from [redacted], who you can always find selling over by the [redacted].

DNAinfo had the guidelines about buying marijuana from one of 20 dispensaries set to open in New York:

• So far, the medical conditions approved for marijuana prescriptions are limited to cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord tissue damage, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathies and Huntington's disease. The Department of Health can add medical conditions to this list as it sees fit.

• To register as a patient eligible to purchase marijuana, you'll need to get certification from your doctor demonstrating your medical need and detailing your prescription. You'll also have to be a New York resident, or a patient receiving treatment in the state.

• You won't be smoking the pot you buy. Dispensaries will sell no larger than 30-day supplies of marijuana in the form of oils, pills, or tinctures.

This East 14th Street location is not expected to open until after Jan. 1.

The Real Deal noted that Columbia Care, who's paying $140 per square foot, signed a five-year deal with a five-year renewal option.

The storefront was most recently the Super Saving Store, which closed in June 2011.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Residential, retail and an additional floor for 212 E. 14th St.

Full exposure at 212 E. 14th St.

Full exposure at 212 E. 14th St.

EVG East 14th Street/IHOP Way Correspondent Pinch passes along word that 212 E. 14th St. is now plywood free following its total gut renovation with one-floor extension these past two years.

Fits right in now along here just east of Third Avenue and adjacent to the newish Jefferson retail-residential complex.



The storefront was most recently the Super Saving Store, which closed in June 2011.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Residential, retail and an additional floor for 212 E. 14th St.

Here is a new building on East 14th Street

[Photo from August 2013]

After nearly a two-year gut renovation and one-floor extension … workers have removed the scaffolding and construction netting from 212 E. 14th St. near Third Avenue.

And here you go…



Looks inoffensively generic enough…

The retail space has been on the market. The storefront was most recently the Super Saving Store, which closed in June 2011.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Residential, retail and an additional floor for 212 E. 14th St.

All-new 212 E. 14th St. seeks retail tenant

The gut renovating carries on over at 212 E. 14th St. near Third Avenue. Workers have added a sixth floor to the building nestled between the Jefferson's retail spaces (and Chickpea)...



New store for rent signs are up now on the sidewalk bridge … the listing isn't online, so if you are interested in the space, then you need to call…



The storefront was most recently the Super Saving Store, which closed in June 2011. Irving Klaw's Movie Star News, which specialized in celebrity stills and Hollywood pin-ups, had a store on the second floor at this address seemingly 1,000 years ago.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Residential, retail and an additional floor for 212 E. 14th St.

Residential, retail and an additional floor for 212 E. 14th St.

Work continues at 212 E. 14th St. near Third Avenue... in a building nestled between the "21st Century living in the heart of Olde New York" that is The Jefferson.

Anyway, there's plywood and a sign up now that provides a few more details on what's next here... namely residential and retail...





In early June, the DOB approved the following:

VERTICAL ENLARGEMENT, GUT DEMOLITION & CONSTRUCTION OF NEW INTERIOR , TO CONVERT AN EXISTING 5-STORY BUILDING WITH 4 APARTMENTS ABOVE A RETAIL FLOOR , TO A 6-STORY BUILDING WITH 10 APARTMENTS ABOVE THE RETAIL FLOOR. REMOVE INTERIOR NON-BEARING PARTITIONS THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING, INSTALL NEW PARTITIONS AS PER PLANS FILED HEREWITH.

And we looked inside the space the other day... not much of anything left...



There is an active retail listing for the space ... most recently the Super Saving Store, which closed in June 2011. Don't expect any super savings here in the future either. Or anything like another previous tenant — Irving Klaw's Movie Star News, home of celebrity stills and Hollywood pin-ups through the years... here's an ad for the shop during its time at 212...


[Vintage Sleaze]

Head over to Jeremiah's Vanishing New York for more on Movie Star News and another former neighbor – the Jefferson Theatre.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Before it was the Mystery Lot