The town board has voted to allow the sale of adult-use recreational cannabis in Rotterdam.
The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act in 2020 legalized cannabis use for adults 21 and over in New York state.
Local legislation that would regulate marijuana businesses in Rotterdam was first proposed in October. Republican Town Supervisor Mollie Collins is watching with interest the first legalized cannabis sales that started Thursday in New York City, as she and fellow townsfolk prepare for however the operations eventually unfold in Rotterdam.
"Well, we've heard very strongly from members of Mohanesen School board and the Mohanesen superintendent," Collins said. "And you know, their major concern as it should be for all of us, is to make sure that our children are well protected from it. You know, they are concerned, obviously, with where are they going to go? Are they going to be located next to schools? I think, you know, the they came out with the strongest opinion. We've had other individuals, town members, that are not crazy about it. They would prefer that, perhaps last December when we had the option to opt out, that we had opted out before, you know, and given the state time to give us clear regulations. And then we've had a couple of people, some residents, who are looking forward to the revenue stream. So I would say that, if I had to guess it's either 50-50 or 60-40 with the 60% being concerned about them."
Collins notes that a series of public hearings led up to Wednesday night's passage of a resolution that will now be accepted into municipal code.
"Limiting adult use cannabis lounges to the I-1, I-2 light industrial and industrial sections of the town," sadi Collins. "And the retail stores for adult use cannabis would be in these two areas."
Business hours will be set at 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Collins says the town board is hopeful that any marijuana-related businesses setting up shop in Rotterdam will generate tax revenue. But there is much uncertainty.
"We hear rumors about how many licenses they are gonna allow within a county or within a municipality," said Collins. "But we still have not heard anything definite from the from the state. So is it going to be that we'll have one store in Rotterdam, and that's the only license that they'll give us? You know, I think that's what makes this so difficult, is we don't have clear definitions or information from the state."
Republican Deputy Town Supervisor Jack Dodson says the eventual impact on the town is yet to be determined.
“From my perspective, you know, there's just too many unknowns," Dodson said. "You know, if we were to have one facility within the town, is that going to make a big difference in my mind? No. Is it going to raise a significant amount of revenue for the town? The answer would be no, as well. And I kind of compared and I use the analogy last night to, you know, the state got one casino, they waited to see what kind of revenue would be generated from that. And then they decided to open a bunch of different casinos. And who knows, we could get more of those, you know, I had to believe cannabis could go the same way. They'll restrict a certain amount of licenses for a period of time, get an understanding of what revenue is generated, what may, what impacts there may be, and then decisions will be made in the future, they're going to issue additional licenses. And if that's the case, you know, the town may end up with, you know, a couple additional retail outlets, perhaps, but in our mind, this is so up in the air and unknown at this point in time and remains to be seen.”
Collins and Dodson say they’re awaiting clear-cut regulations that will spell out whether smoke-on-site lounges will operate separately from take-home stores. They say the town will "go carefully forward."
New York officials approved the state’s first 36 cannabis dispensary licenses in November.