PLATTSBURGH — Local adult-use cannabis dispensary Elevate ADK was recently given the OK to begin delivering their products to homes and businesses in the area.

The New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB) and the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) approved the opening of Elevate ADK, previously named North Country Roots, for delivery on May 11.

Elevate ADK, which is temporarily based out of Plattsburgh, started taking orders that day and began their delivery services May 13.

“We at North Country Roots, Inc have changed our name and are doing business as Elevate ADK,” company chairman, Doug Butdorf, said.

“And we are greatly excited to bring a wide variety of New York grown and produced products to our neighbors.”

According to their website, Elevate ADK, one of the 11 licensed dispensaries open in the state, is now delivering to the following zip codes: 12901, 12903, 12944, 12972, 12983, 12946, 12913, 12989, 12981, 12978, 12918, 12962, 12977, 12950 and 12932.

Orders placed at ElevateADK.com will be fulfilled on a scheduled basis or may be available for express fulfillment based on demand and driver availability, which they are hiring for.

Currently, their hours of operation are seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. though Eli Emery, Elevate ADK’s general manager, said that may change in the future for certain routes.

Available online products include a wide assortment of smokable cannabis flower, vape pens and cartridges, concentrates, delicious edible products and drinks — all grown and produced by licensed New York companies.

Emery said so far, their edibles have been the most popular product among customers.

“We’ve done a lot of work to source the best quality products for our customers and are excited to build strong relationships with the growers using the most sustainable agricultural practices and producing the best products available,” Emery said.

“I’ve met, personally, people from every single one of the companies that we represent … been to the farm, met the farmers, seen the stuff in production.”

Additionally, all of their products are lab tested and carry a QR code that has a lab report analysis of how much THC, CBD and CBG are in it, as well as any contaminants like heavy metals or pesticides, if any, are present in the product.

“And so customers can know exactly what they’re getting before they get it or once they get it, which is just a huge shift in the industry availability that we’re used to,” Emery said.

“Most people are (used to) whatever your guy hands you in a plastic bag is what you get, and you can’t really ask too many questions and there’s not too many options.”

Elevate ADK was also recently approved by OCM to open a retail storefront, of which they plan to do in Saranac Lake by July, if the town approves it, Emery said.

If approved, their storefront will be located in the Saranac Lake Plaza.

“So we’re hoping to move in there and our eventual goal is to turn the adjacent unit into an indoor consumption lounge, which the state will be licensing sometime later this year,” Emery said.

“But they actually did just change the regulations and we will have onsite consumption in the dispensary itself. So that was a new thing.”

Originally, when Butdorf first announced his business as a recipient of the state’s Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) license, he hoped to open his storefront somewhere in Plattsburgh.

Emery said a few factors eventually influenced their decision to instead choose Saranac Lake, including competition from other recreational dispensaries working to open up in the Plattsburgh area already.

“So it was kind of ‘is Plattsburgh going to be the best place for our store?'” he said.

“And we landed on Saranac Lake due to its proximity to Lake Placid for one and two, the culture in Saranac Lake is very supportive of a dispensary of cannabis. and we just wanted to kind of be in the High Peaks. Plattsburgh is … outside of the Adirondack Park, so we just didn’t know if that was really the fit for us.”