Colonie CBD store poised to begin selling Cannabis
Final steps remain for Brownies to expand its offerings.
Brownies, a CBD store on Central Avenue, is poised to expand into a full-service cannabis retailer now that it has a license to do so.
Hoping for a September grand opening, proprietor Michael Hilland said his store might be Colonie’s first to sell adult-use cannabis products at a bricks-and-mortar location.
“We just got our (state) application approved this week,” said Hilland, who with his mother, Kelly Hilland, runs Brownies CBD store at 1593 Central Ave. in village of Colonie.
Hilland said he became interested in selling CBD after his mom, a retired Army Colonel who served tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and Djibouti, found it alleviated her post-traumatic disorder symptoms.
And knowing that cannabis licenses were being awarded, they figured having a CBD store would help them get started.
Michael Hilland runs the store’s operations while Kelly does the administrative work. She has a doctorate in business technology and human resources from Northcentral University and an MBA from Marist College.
His brother Kyle had been on probation for a cannabis conviction, Hilland said, which satisfied the state requirement that some of the first licenses go to people who had previously been impacted by cannabis laws. He helps in the store and also works as a welding inspector, Michael Hilland said.
They plan to sell edibles, buds, tinctures and topical forms of cannabis.
The store, which started selling CDB products in September 2021, still has some procedures to clear before the state Office of Cannabis Management will allow it to sell cannabis products containing the psychoactive substance THC. Inspectors from the office need to make sure its tax systems are set up, as well as store security and methods of tracking the seed-to-sale pipeline that ensures the cannabis is safe and grown in New York state.
Additionally, Hilland said the store will need approval from the village of Colonie but that it is set to go before the planning board later this month. He said he feels confident as the CBD store has been in place for two years and they have a good relationship with the village.
Last month, Northern Lights Dispensary won approval for its permit to open a storefront on Broadway in the village of Menands, with the intent of beginning a delivery service before opening its storefront to customers in October.
For Brownies, Hilland expects to be able to choose from a variety of cannabis farmers and processors. The Times Union has previously reported that hundreds of growers are anxiously awaiting the opening of more licensed stores to which they can sell their products.
State lawmakers in March 2021 legalized the sale of cannabis, but developing rules for its sale and the awarding of licenses has been a slow process.
“We’re going to have a lot of different suppliers,” Hilland said.
