FREDONIA, N.Y. — Now that farmers are getting licenses from the state to grow cannabis, some communities are turning their attention to where the cannabis dispensaries will go.
"We're looking at probably one, maybe two dispensaries, but that's up to the state," according to Jon Espersen, who chairs the Village of Fredonia's Cannabis Advisory Team and says no one has applied yet to open a cannabis dispensary in the Village.
Dispensaries are regulated by the New York State Office of Cannabis Management. State law says they can not be within 500 feet of a school or within 200 feet of a church.
"The municipality can set hours of operation, but you can't make it, you know, 8 in the morning until noon. I mean, it has to be a realistic hours so that the business can be successful because the state's making money off the product," Espersen said.
Some Buffalo Common Council Members on Monday brought up concerns about whether the city will have enough say over where the state approves dispensaries.
"They should be having some dialogue with us whatsoever, and I know that probably won't happen. But again, they're going to put a cannabis, or approve a cannabis site, in our districts and we have nothing to say. People may not want it. People may not like it. We have no say," University District Buffalo Common Council member Rasheed Wyatt said.
And this week, the Town of Orchard Park passed a zoning law restricting cannabis dispensaries to the "Industrial Zone."
These are issues every municipality that did not opt out of cannabis dispensaries is dealing with.
"I think it's up to each community to make it as safe an environment, as effective environment, and to find out what control each municipality actually has ahead of time so you can assist a potential business owner to become successful in your community," Espersen said.
2 On Your Side asked the Office of Cannabis Management to explain its process for deciding where dispensaries go. A spokesperson sent us a link to the law. It says communities can pass zoning laws and regulate hours as long as it doesn't make it impractical to own a business.
State law also says a municipality's opinion for or against granting a license will be used by the Office of Cannabis Management to decide whether to grant or deny the application.