Towns grapple with cannabis law; Jay, Wilmington to vote in November

AU SABLE FORKS | The Town of Jay announced Thursday, Jan. 27, that it has received enough certified signatures to put the sale of cannabis up to a vote next November. The ballot question will now be drawn up and sent to the county board of elections, said town attorney Dan Manning. Petitions were distributed in part by Board Member Knut Sauer, who said he personally had a dubious view of legalized marijuana, but felt the public deserved to have the final say. The ballot question will ask voters to approve or disapprove off-site and on-site marijuana sales. Even if voters give a thumbs up, an entrepreneur would still need to be convinced that a dispensary could make money in a small community, a circumstance some town leaders in rural Essex County view as unlikely. Marijuana was legalized in New York last year, but as yet there are still no rules or regulations under which a retail dispensary or pot bar could be opened. Those are expected by the end of the year, but it's unlikely any of these establishments would get off the ground before 2023. And in rural Essex County, a cannabis outlet would be more likely to be sustainable in jurisdictions with heavy foot traffic, such as Lake Placid or Saranac Lake, said Wilmington Supervisor Roy Holzer, whose town will also be able to vote on the issue next fall. Holzer submitted a petition with 70 signatures to the Town Clerk, a dozen more than necessary to put cannabis on the ballot, a number based on a percentage of registered voters. "As I was circulating the petitions, most people were indifferent (to marijuana sales) but there seemed to be enthusiasm for putting it on the ballot," he said. When New York legalized marijuana sales, it gave local municipalities the option of denying cannabis sales in their respective jurisdictions. Those that opt out can opt back in at any time, and voters had the right to petition to have the issue on the ballot. Across the state, 733 out of 1,520 New York municipalities opted out of off-site marijuana dispensaries (similar to liquor stores), while 883 opted out of on-premise consumption sites (similar to a tavern), according to a Rockefeller Institute of Government tracker. In Essex County, 13 of 20 jurisdictions opted out, but a number of those were not adamantly opposed to cannabis sales, but wanted time to draw up guidelines governing the dispensaries. In Clinton County, only three of 18 jurisdictions opted out; in Hamilton County, seven of 10 jurisdictions opted out; and in Warren County, six of 13 said no, according to the Rockefeller Institute. Jurisdictions that took no action one way or another were automatically eligible for marijuana sales.

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Towns grapple with cannabis law; Jay, Wilmington to vote in November

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