Peekskill, Cortlandt Vote to Allow Cannabis Dispensaries
Cannabis dispensaries will be allowed to set up shop in the City of Peekskill and Town of Cortlandt.
Both the Peekskill Common Council and Cortlandt Town Board voted in December not to opt-out of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) enacted in New York State on March 31, 2021 that legalized marijuana and gave the green light for dispensaries and lounges, also known as consumption sites.
All municipalities in the state were given a Dec. 31, 2021 deadline to make a decision on the legislation. If no action was taken, a municipality was automatically opted in, which can’t be overturned. However, a municipality that opts out can decide later to reverse course.
On Dec. 13 in Peekskill, the Common Council voted 4-3 not to opt-out. Joining forces on that vote were councilmembers Vanessa Agudelo, Dwight Douglas, Ramon Fernandez and Kathie Talbot.
“It will be monitored by a state agency. There will be a lot of supervision and oversight. In a few years, this will not be a big issue,” Douglas contended.
On the opposing side were Mayor Andre Rainey, mayor-elect Vivian McKenzie and Councilwoman Patricia Riley.
“I cannot in good conscience vote for this,” said Riley, who is an educator. “We taught our students not to do drugs, not to drink. We have the DARE program. Right now I feel like we just don’t have enough information.”
McKenzie agreed with Riley, and noted a potential business owner would need $250,000 to get a license for a dispensary and another $800,000 to open the business.
“I think it’s a poor business decision to do something before you have all the information,” McKenzie remarked. “As a Black person, I know this does affect the family. We don’t need more drugs.”
Any tax revenues on local sales of marijuana and other products would be distributed as a 9% excise tax to the state, 3% to the municipality and 1% to the county.
Meanwhile, the council also voted to allow lounges.
In neighboring Cortlandt, during a special meeting on the 2022 budget that was not televised, the four-member Town Board automatically opted the town in after reaching a 2-2 vote, which meant the resolution to opt out failed.
Supervisor Linda Puglisi and Councilman Frank Farrell, the longest-serving board members at 34 and 26 years respectively, voted to opt-out, while supervisor-elect Dr. Richard Becker and Councilman James Creighton voted no.
A second vote to opt-out of lounges/consumption centers and limit cannabis retail dispensaries to the Route 6 corridor passed 3-1, with Puglisi siding with Becker and Creighton.
Farrell said he felt the state still hasn’t finalized all the guidelines and town officials had the option to opt-in at a later date.
“I think it was kind of acting blindly,” Farrell remarked. “And why Route 6? Why not other parts in town?”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
