Marijuana

The board voted 4-1 to adopt the code, with Supervisor Yvette Aguiar casting the lone dissenting vote, arguing that it will be invalidated by the state, as she misrepresented the contents of a document outlining upcoming state regulations.

Residents and prospective marijuana entrepreneurs applauded the Riverhead Town Board’s proposed zoning code for marijuana businesses as retail sales are poised to get underway, with one speaker calling it the most “progressive” of its kind and most friendly to the emerging industry on Long Island.

A public hearing on a proposed code to regulate retail marijuana shops and lounges in Riverhead is slated for Oct. 18, according to Councilman Ken Rothwell, who has led an ad-hoc committee to steer development of the code.

The state is now accepting applications for adult-use dispensary licenses. Twenty will be issued for locations on Long Island. Riverhead is one of four L.I. towns that chose not to opt-out of marijuana sales. A local code to regulate dispensaries and lounges is still in the works.

The town board on June 7 banned smoking and vaping marijuana at and near town parks, beaches playgrounds and other facilities, where tobacco use is already prohibited. It also extended a ban on smoking to all town-approved events.

Cannabis giant Cresco Labs has announced it will acquire Columbia Care, the company that operates a medical marijuana dispensary and cultivation facility in Riverhead, in a $2 billion deal. 

Riverhead Town’s marijuana advisory committee will recommend to the town board that marijuana businesses be integrated into current zoning districts and kept away from certain land uses, including schools, libraries, places of worship, parks and beaches, with 500-foot to 1,000-foot setbacks.

Riverhead Town's third marijuana advisory committee forum, set for Tuesday evening at Town Hall, will aim to finalize recommendations on “time, place and manner” restrictions for adult-use dispensaries and on-site consumption lounges.  

People affected by old laws that criminalized marijuana will be the first to open adult-use cannabis retail businesses under new regulations proposed by the New York State Office of Cannabis Management’s Cannabis Control Board.

Participants in Riverhead Town’s Marijuana Advisory Forum came to a consensus on the time restrictions for marijuana retail stores and lounges during its meeting Wednesday night.