A new high for Brooklyn: Misha’s Flower Shop opens in Bushwick

By Brett Wachtel

Walking into Misha’s Flower Shop, you’ll find a big open floor designed to host community events like a Cheech and Chong movie night, spoken word evenings and stand-up comedy. You’ll also find Misha Buch, the dispensary’s owner, most likely chatting with a customer about his favorite strains, navigating the perfect high for them.

“Cannabis has always been about connection with other people,” he says, adding that he hopes that his shop can “make more connections with more people through this wonderful plant that we call cannabis.”

Photo by Brett Wachtel

In a neighborhood known for its vibrant and cutting-edge culture, that connection is right here: Misha’s Flower Shop is Brooklyn’s newest — and now largest — state-licensed cannabis dispensary.

It was a long road to get here, though.

Buch was able to open Misha’s Flower Shop in April as part of the New York State program that offered the first licenses to small business owners who were arrested for cannabis in the bad old days when it was still illegal.

“My qualifying arrest was actually right here in Bushwick,” he says. “It was on Myrtle Avenue, right near the White Castle over there and so it feels really correct to be here.”

Buch has lived in Bushwick for 21 years and was arrested in 2009 with hashish, a cannabinoid concentrate, which was “way more illegal” than regular marijuana. Over seven grams of hashish crossed over into a felony, whereas half a pound of marijuana was a misdemeanor. He says that Bushwick was a “very overpoliced area” at the time. Today, hashish is now one of Misha’s favorite products to sell.

After weed was first legalized in New York for recreational use through the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA), the law established the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) to implement the legislation. From that first day on March 21, 2021, it took nearly three years for the first legal dispensary to open up, which bred frustration among New Yorkers. Misha’s Flower shop is the eighth to open its doors in Brooklyn.

The rollout, while slow (and happening even as countless hundreds of unlicensed weed stores began popping up all over the city), stands in contrast to other states, Buch says, in that it prioritized residents who had been harmed by old drug laws.

Other states, says Buch, “just invited people from other states to come in with millions of dollars and open shops,” he says. “But then what are you left with after that? You’re a soulless cannabis industry, which is exactly the opposite of what we all should be wanting from this type of business, and from really, in my opinion, most businesses.”

Flower power
True to the name of his shop, flower is Buch’s specialty. He also sells edibles, pre-rolled joints, concentrates and wax pens at different price points. With over 400 products, there’s a “range of stuff for different people,” he says, “different potencies, different quality, but it’s all safe and tested and ready to use.”

Katie Huang is a repeat customer who praises the “trustworthiness” of her experience at the dispensary. She points out the contrast to her experience at “gray market” smoke shops, saying that even if they are giving her information about the products, she can’t necessarily tell how accurate it is “because there’s no third-party lab testing.”

Ultimately, Buch wants to offer an “array of options,” regardless of the customer’s experience with cannabis. Whether you’re a veteran toker, a novice, or even a person who’s been out of the game for decades, Misha offers a personal customer service style to suit their customers’ needs.