Some of Long Island’s most popular summer hot spots aren’t high on legal weed sales.
All seven villages in the town of Southampton — including Westhampton, Sag Harbor and the town’s swanky namesake — opted out of allowing sales of recreational marijuana, records show.
The East End beach village of East Hampton and the town of Shelter Island also won’t let stores sell cannabis or allow businesses to profit off people getting wasted on their premises.
And despite its seemingly “420 friendly” name, the Long Island town of Hempstead — the state’s largest, with a population of more than 800,000 — also decided to harsh the mellow of resident stoners.
A total of 522 municipalities — 34 percent of the state’s 1,528 cities, villages and towns — decided to take a pass on the potential windfall from weed-related commerce, according to data released Tuesday by the Office of Cannabis Management.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has said the state plans to reap more than $1.25 billion in new revenue during the next six years from a 9 percent state excise tax on pot sales.
Municipalities that allow sales and their surrounding counties will also split another 4 percent excise tax, 75-25.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman was a Hempstead councilman when officials unanimously voted last year to just say no and said he was convinced that “the cost to society far outweighs any revenue that would be derived from marijuana sales.”
“I believe that recreational marijuana is deleterious to the health of our residents, especially young people, and that it will create a public safety crisis,” he said.
“I’m not sure there’s any revenue that would have made us do it.”
The Long Island village of Island Park also “acted in concert” against legal weed locally, Mayor Michael McGinty said.
McGinty described marijuana as a “gateway drug” and said allowing its legal sale “opens a door you can never close again.”
“We’re talking about a moral imperative here,” he said.
But given the larger percentage of municipalities that will permit sales — including the Big Apple and most cities — state residents won’t have far to travel to get their smoke on.
Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said his government was eager to help accommodate the customers who won’t be able to make purchases in the town’s villages.
“If there’s going to be a dispensary in the town…it’ll probably be in an industrial area or near a main highway,” he said.
“We could do a lot with the money, which I anticipate to be upwards of $1 million a year. It’s not an insignificant amount of money. ”
All seven villages in the town of Southampton — including Westhampton, Sag Harbor and the town’s swanky namesake — opted out of allowing sales of recreational marijuana, records show.
The East End beach village of East Hampton and the town of Shelter Island also won’t let stores sell cannabis or allow businesses to profit off people getting wasted on their premises.
And despite its seemingly “420 friendly” name, the Long Island town of Hempstead — the state’s largest, with a population of more than 800,000 — also decided to harsh the mellow of resident stoners.
A total of 522 municipalities — 34 percent of the state’s 1,528 cities, villages and towns — decided to take a pass on the potential windfall from weed-related commerce, according to data released Tuesday by the Office of Cannabis Management.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman was a Hempstead councilman when officials unanimously voted last year to just say no and said he was convinced that “the cost to society far outweighs any revenue that would be derived from marijuana sales.”
“I believe that recreational marijuana is deleterious to the health of our residents, especially young people, and that it will create a public safety crisis,” he said.
“I’m not sure there’s any revenue that would have made us do it.”
The Long Island village of Island Park also “acted in concert” against legal weed locally, Mayor Michael McGinty said.
McGinty described marijuana as a “gateway drug” and said allowing its legal sale “opens a door you can never close again.”
“We’re talking about a moral imperative here,” he said.
But given the larger percentage of municipalities that will permit sales — including the Big Apple and most cities — state residents won’t have far to travel to get their smoke on.
Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said his government was eager to help accommodate the customers who won’t be able to make purchases in the town’s villages.
“If there’s going to be a dispensary in the town…it’ll probably be in an industrial area or near a main highway,” he said.
“We could do a lot with the money, which I anticipate to be upwards of $1 million a year. It’s not an insignificant amount of money. ”
