Your First Dispensary Visit in New York

For your first dispensary visit in New York, bring a valid government-issued photo ID that shows you are 21 or older; that is the only thing you need. Staff check it before you enter and again before you buy, a budtender helps you choose, and at Farmers Choice you can order online ahead of time and pay at pickup.

Walking into a dispensary for the first time can feel a little intimidating. It should not. New York's licensed stores are regulated shops, and the staff do this all day. Here is exactly how a visit to Farmers Choice works, start to finish, so you know what to expect before you go.

What do you need to bring to a dispensary?

Bring a valid, government-issued photo ID that proves you are 21 or older. That is the only requirement. The list of valid ID published by New York's Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) includes a driver's license or non-driver ID card from any U.S. state or a Canadian province, a passport issued by the United States or any other country, IDNYC, and a U.S. military ID, so visitors from out of state are covered. The name and date of birth need to be readable. You do not need a medical card to shop at an adult-use dispensary, and you do not need an appointment. If you would rather skip the browsing, you can look over our menu online first and even place an order ahead of time.

At the door

You will show your ID at check-in, every visit, even if you have been in before. New York's cannabis regulations require licensed stores to identify the people who come in so that access is limited to adults 21 and older, and staff also have to confirm your age before any sale, so keep your ID handy. That means anyone entering the store must be 21 or older, so plan for younger companions to wait outside.

Browsing the menu

Once you are in, you can browse our live selection of flower, pre-rolls, vapes, edibles, tinctures, topicals, concentrates, accessories, and more. The person helping you is a budtender, and telling them a few things makes the whole visit easier: whether you are new to cannabis or experienced, the kind of experience you are after, the format you prefer, and roughly what you want to spend. There are no bad questions. Helping people find the right thing is the entire job, and nobody is going to rush or pressure you.

What can you buy at a dispensary?

If you are not sure where to start, it helps to know the main categories. Flower is classic bud you grind and roll or pack. Pre-rolls are ready-to-go joints. Vaporizers heat oil or flower without burning it. Edibles and drinks are swallowed. Tinctures are dosed with a dropper. Topicals go on your skin. Concentrates are potent extracts better suited to experienced users. You can read more about any of these on our category pages, and a budtender can point you to the right shelf in a sentence or two. If the indica, sativa, and hybrid labels are new to you, our guide to those three labels explains what they do and do not tell you.

Ordering and paying

At Farmers Choice you can order online ahead of time from the Fishkill menu or the New Paltz menu and pick up in store, or shop in person and decide at the counter. Either way, you pay at pickup. Most online orders are ready within the hour. Payment options vary from store to store and can change, so it is worth having a little cash the first time or calling ahead to confirm.

What New York rules should first-time buyers know?

A few rules are worth carrying in your head. You must be 21 or older to buy, possess, or consume adult-use cannabis. Under New York law, adults can possess and purchase up to 3 ounces of cannabis and up to 24 grams of concentrated cannabis, and a licensed store cannot knowingly sell you more than that. You cannot consume inside a dispensary, in a vehicle, moving or parked, or anywhere smoking tobacco is prohibited, and driving under the influence is illegal and dangerous. New York allows no open containers of cannabis in a vehicle, so keep products closed in their original, labeled packaging while you travel home.

A few tips to make it easy

Come with a rough idea of what you want, but stay open to suggestions, since budtenders often know the batch that just landed. If you are curious about a product's lab results, every regulated product label carries a QR code or link to its Certificate of Analysis, and our guide to reading a COA shows what to look for. Tipping is welcome but never expected. And if you are trying something new, buy a small amount first and see how it suits you before committing to more.

After your visit

Store everything in its original, child-resistant packaging, locked, out of sight, and out of reach of children and pets, which is OCM's own safe storage advice, and away from heat and light so it stays fresh. Our guide to storing flower covers the details. If you are trying something new, start low and give it time before deciding what you think. Then come back and tell us how it went, because that is how we help you dial in the next visit. Our guide to edibles dosing is a good next read if edibles are on your list, and our guide to New York cannabis laws covers what the state does and does not allow. When you are ready, Visit Us at the Fishkill farm stand or the New Paltz barn.