Riverhead to create advisory committee for town marijuana policy

A volunteer committee will advise the town board on Riverhead’s implementation of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act.

Councilman Ken Rothwell, who with Supervisor Yvette Aguiar voted to opt out of retail marijuana sales in Riverhead, is leading the effort to form the committee.

Rothwell said he would begin to draft and send letters to the civic associations in each of the town’s hamlets, asking for a representative on the committee. A resolution establishing the committee and appointing members will be proposed after the organizations respond.

A local law to opt out of retail sales and onsite consumption in Riverhead — which is allowed under state legislation enacted this spring unless a municipality opts out by Dec. 31 — failed to win town board approval last month in a 3-2 vote. During a public hearing in June, residents’ opinions were split on whether to opt out. The newly formed committee would help the town board get the community’s input into any “time, place and manner” restrictions related to retail and onsite consumption— which the state law allows a municipality to regulate.

“I think you’re going to designate where it’s going to be sold, I think you should have that representative from that local civic association to have a place at the table to say yes we support it or no we don’t,” Rothwell said.

Rothwell said he also wants the participation of the drug and alcohol prevention nonprofit, Riverhead Community Awareness Program. One of Rothwell’s sons is on the organization’s Youth Coalition and presented with the group to the town board about youth prevention policies last month. Rothwell said the town will also invite representatives from the Riverhead Central School District, the Riverhead Police Department and the Business Improvement District. 

Rothwell told RiverheadLOCAL that the committee will not contain professionals in the marijuana business, like Colombia Care, which he said would hold a conflict of interest.