Nassau County has opted out of cannabis dispensaries opening within its border for years. But as politicians and industry experts talk about the possibility of both tightening and loosening that restriction as shops open along the county’s shared border with Queens, that opt-out might not be so straightforward in the future.
Not only are cannabis dispensaries like New York City Cannabis Exchange on Jericho Turnpike, Greenflower Cannabis on Hillside Avenue, and potentially HerbHub LLC on Union Turnpike opening steps away from Nassau County in Queens, but Kate Hurby, the founder of cannabis consulting and lobbying group KJH Strategies, thinks some Nassau towns or villages might reverse their decision to opt-out of cannabis sales in the coming future.
Hurby, who called Long Island the new frontier for cannabis, said she thinks some currently opt-out towns are seeing that there is a significant amount of new tax revenue to be made by allowing cannabis dispensaries to open, potentially in the range of millions.
She said she thinks over a dozen municipalities in Nassau and Suffolk may attempt to repeal their cannabis opt-outs in the next year, based on professional conversations she has recently had.
That would likely not sit well with Nassau County residents and politicians already upset about the dispensaries opening on the Queens side of the county’s border.
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Angela Castellano and Jonathan Karten, co-presidents of the Queens Lost Community Civic Association, and Bill Cutrone, president of the Lakeville Estates Civic Association on Nassau’s side of New Hyde Park, have expressed concerns about dispensaries opening near the border. Their concerns primarily include children getting access to cannabis, crime occurring near the dispensaries, and slow police response time. They fear any criminal activity that may happen in or near the border dispensaries because Queens police cannot cross into Nassau County and vice versa.d
Oppositions of the border dispensaries aren’t all talk: Republican officials recently introduced legislation for what they call a potential cannabis buffer zone on the edge of Queens and Nassau.
The Nassau County Police Department said it did not have a comment on the dispensaries opening.
State Sen. Jack Martins introduced a bill last week which, if passed, would prevent dispensaries from opening in Queens within a specified distance from the Queens-Nassau border.
Dispensaries on the border, like Greenflower Cannabis, which opened last month, feel the prejudice toward them is unwarranted.
“I definitely understand their concern is cannabis shops opening and causing mayhem,” said Sid Patel, a manager at Greenflower. ‘But we are state legal. That means we are doing everything by the books. There’s a ton of illicit shops on the street, and God knows what they’re selling. They should be focused on that.”
Hurby said some products from illegal shops have been found to contain heavy metals, despite their packing appearing deceivingly safe.
“We are making sure we are serving the community with proper age verification and all our staff is equipped with the dosage knowledge,” said Patel, who emphasized that Greenflower is focused on educating customers on cannabis products and selling from local companies and farmers.
“I tell everybody who is upset with us being open: Give us an opportunity,” Patel said. “Come by, talk to us. Sometimes there’s a stigma that prevents people from realizing not everything about cannabis is for getting high or getting wasted. There are a ton of benefits that come with it.”
