On March 31, 2023, a ribbon was cut on upper Union Street in Schenectady, and the Capital Region got its first legal adult-use cannabis store. Upstate Canna Co. opened under CAURD license OCM-CAURD-23-000005, the fifth such license number the state issued, and Governor Kathy Hochul's office announced its grand opening for the following morning, April 1. More than three years later it is still at 1613 Union Street, and it has one of the strongest public review records of any store in the region. The address sits east of Union College along the same street, in a stretch of upper Union Street lined with local businesses and residential blocks, which helps explain the steady neighborhood customer base.
From vape shop to CAURD pioneer
Owner Don Andrews did not arrive in cannabis cold. The governor's announcement described him as a local entrepreneur who had run retail storefronts in Schenectady and Scotia for about a decade, selling smoking and vaping supplies, CBD and accessories. WAMC reported that Andrews opened a vape shop in Scotia roughly ten years before legalization and later converted his Schenectady store, then called Upstate CBD, into Upstate Canna Co. The state's license registry still lists the entity, D-Andrews LLC, with "Upstate CBD" as its assumed name.
Andrews qualified for a CAURD license as a justice-involved individual, the category New York created to put people affected by prohibition first in line. Speaking at the ribbon-cutting, he told WAMC it had been a long journey, and he said he had prepared for legalization once neighboring states moved first. The first customer was a head grower from supplier Adirondack Hemp, who told the station the moment meant going from being treated as a criminal to being accepted in his community.
The shop's site goes further, calling itself "Upstate New York's first dispensary." That claim does not hold up against the state registry, which shows Just Breathe in Binghamton (license OCM-CAURD-23-000004) open to the public by February 7, 2023, nearly two months earlier. State and press coverage describe Upstate Canna more precisely as the first in the Capital Region, and it was still among the first handful of CAURD stores operating anywhere in New York. In the spring of 2023 the other legal adult-use counters were essentially all in Manhattan and Binghamton, so Capital Region shoppers who had been driving to Massachusetts suddenly had a local option.
What is on the shelves
Andrews told reporters at opening that everything he stocked was grown and tested in New York, and the store's current site describes a curated menu from New York growers and producers. Categories include flower, pre-rolls, edibles, vapes and disposables, concentrates, tinctures and oils, topicals and accessories.
At the time of writing (October 2026), featured items on the homepage included a 100-milligram Wyld gummy pack at $24, Jaunty gummies at $24, a No Wave product at $28, a Veterans Choice Creations flower item at $46 and a 1,000-milligram Ayrloom tincture at $60, alongside Halloween specials. If you are new to edibles at those strengths, read our beginner's milligram guide first.
Late hours and a 30-mile delivery radius
Upstate Canna keeps unusually late weekday hours: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The phone number is (518) 280-4289.
The shop advertises delivery within 30 miles, with dedicated pages for Schenectady, Albany, Saratoga Springs and the wider Capital Region. That radius is wide enough to make it a realistic delivery option for people in Clifton Park or Saratoga who do not have a shop on their block. Delivery and online orders draw on the same menu as the counter, and the shop's blog includes short explainers on New York possession limits and on choosing flower by more than THC percentage, a sensible point that our own THC percentage explainer also makes. There is also a loyalty program, and the store runs seasonal promotions. Two scheduling quirks are worth planning around: Saturday opens later, at 11 a.m., and Sunday closes at 5 p.m., so weekend shoppers have a shorter window than the weekday hours suggest. If you want delivery on a Sunday evening, order early in the afternoon.
What 117 Leafly reviews say
Upstate Canna is a Leafly List winner and held a 4.9 rating from 117 reviews at the time of writing, with sub-scores of 5.0 for quality, 5.0 for service and 4.9 for atmosphere. Read in aggregate, the reviews return to a few themes:
- Speed under pressure. Several reviewers describe quick checkouts even with a line out the door.
- Staff knowledge. Budtenders are frequently praised by name for patient, specific recommendations.
- Price range. Reviewers mention flower prices to fit a range of budgets.
- Easy parking. The lot in front of the store comes up repeatedly.
Complaints are rare in the sample we read; one reviewer thought the product displays looked sparse, while another said it made no difference to their visit. A 117-review base is large for an upstate store, and the consistency over three-plus years is the more meaningful signal than any single rating. Several reviewers also describe it as a comfortable first dispensary visit, which fits the shop's emphasis on judgment-free guidance.
Schenectady's crowded market, then and now
When Upstate Canna opened, it had the region to itself, and the Daily Gazette reported booming business in its first week. Lines and steady traffic in those early weeks were the norm, since shoppers from across the region had no closer legal option. That monopoly is long gone. The state registry now lists several operating stores in the city, including:
- Cloud 9 Evolution (1610 Eastern Parkway), just around the corner, which opened in March 2026.
- Mill Lane Provisions (102 State Street), downtown, which opened in April 2025 and stays open until midnight Thursday through Saturday.
- The Weed Spot (501 State Street), another CAURD store, opened in August 2024.
What distinguishes Upstate Canna in that field is tenure and track record: a deep review history, long weekday hours and a delivery radius that reaches well beyond Schenectady. Our roundup of the best dispensaries in Albany and the Capital Region compares more of them, and the full Schenectady County list sits in our licensed-shop directory.
Who should make the trip
Upstate Canna suits weeknight shoppers who need a store open late (it is still open at 10:30 p.m. on a weeknight), Capital Region residents who want delivery, and anyone who values a shop with years of consistent reviews. Bargain hunters can pair the store's loyalty points with whatever is listed on the High Today deals board that week. Hours and prices change, so confirm with the store.