Local officials met Tuesday in Dunkirk to discuss the state's marijuana law and the opt out date municipalities have for retail sales. Photo by Anthony Dolce

The Dec. 31 deadline for municipalities in New York state to opt out of allowing cannabis dispensaries or on-site consumption licenses looms.

Several local officials have a variety of questions and concerns when it comes to marijuana regulations, monetization and zoning. To help those municipalities, State Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, assembled a panel of local officials, authorities and business leaders Tuesday in Dunkirk to answer as many of those questions as possible, while organizing questions being posed. 

Though the specifics of how marijuana will be regulated aren’t fully yet clear, the decision to move forward with legislation to opt out of allowing dispensaries or on-site consumption licenses has been taken by many local municipalities. Any town of village wishing to opt out has to do so by Dec. 31 deadline, but those who do opt out can opt back in at any time afterward.

If a municipality does opt in, they can never again opt out. While this system of doing things may seem arbitrary, State Assemblyman Andy Goodell, R-Jamestown, shed some light on just why New York state is doing things that way.

“You always have the option of opting out now, then opting in when those questions are answered,” Goodell said. “The reason for that disparity is because in theory if you don’t opt out, companies can make investments in the community under the assumption they can move forward, then to make their operation illegal, you have due process. It’s almost like eminent domain. That’s why they structured it like that.”