COCHECTON — As towns around the county take steps towards deciding whether they would allow the retail and on-site consumption of marijuana, town boards discuss what this would mean for their communities.
While towns have no authority when it comes to the legal consumption of marijuana in private homes, last week’s Town Board meeting in Cochecton raised questions about the necessity of retail marijuana sales in the town, the meaning of a consumption site, the potential proximity to schools, legal age of consumption and licensing laws.

When asked to state their initial thoughts about opting in or out of allowing for dispensaries and consumption sites within the Town of Cochecton, each member of the town council stated their concerns or raised questions regarding the specifics of what “opting in” would mean.

“I hate to be a prohibitionist, but there are a lot of health concerns,” said Councilman and Town Health Officer, Dr. Paul Salzberg. “I’d have to give it a lot more thought.”

“We have a high school in the town. I don’t think it’s necessary to be selling it,” added Councilman Michael Walter during the town board meeting.

“We are not sure if the on-site consumption licenses could be in the same establishment as a bar or liquor store,” said Cochecton Town Supervisor Gary Maas.

A few Sullivan County towns considered following in the footsteps of the Town of Mamakating, where board members decided to allow for the retail sale of cannabis, but opt-out of consumption sites.

“I think I’m on the Mamakating side of all of this. It might be smart to have one but not the other,” said Cochecton Town Board member Sean Nearing. “I’m not 100 percent set on making any decision.”
New York towns have until December 31, 2021 to decide whether they want to opt in or out of recreational sale and/or specific on-site consumption establishments.

Municipalities have the option to opt back in if they choose to opt-out by the end of 2021. However, the same cannot be said for the reverse.

“We can opt-out now and opt back in later,” said Maas. “But if we don’t opt-out now, we will never, ever be able to opt-out later.”

Voters do have the option to petition the decision made by their local municipalities prior to the end-of-year deadline. If the petition were successful, the matter of whether or not to approve the local law would be placed on the ballot of the next general election.

“It would be a lost opportunity,” said Cochecton resident Kambri Crews, “If we opt-out now and other towns opt-in, that’s where all the new [marijuana based] businesses are going to go and it’ll be too late for Cochecton if they decide later to opt back in. The other towns will get all the money.”

For Cochecton, the board has not made any concrete decisions on whether they would vote to opt-in or out of allowing at least adult-use retail dispensaries. They plan to discuss matters further as a board and revisit the conversation in next month’s meeting.

“Some towns want to hear from the people,” said Maas. “We want to wait and see it further.”