Middletown Mayor Joe DeStefano told the City Council this week that the state’s newly approved recreational cannabis industry might not have a place in the city, at least not for now.

When employees and patrons of Fuzion Barber Shop on East Main Street heard that several city officials want to ban recreational marijuana sales in the city, it generated quite a reaction.

“People have been smoking weed forever,” barber Kusar Vereen said about the mayor’s reservations that the New York State Cannabis Control Board has not yet set clear rules for dispensaries and smoking lounges. “You still can smoke recreationally without the dispensaries…I think he shouldn’t opt out. He should opt in. It’ll be okay.”

Opting out would not necessarily be permanent.

What You Need To Know

  • Mayor Joe DeStefano urged the city council to hold off on opting in to allow recreational cannabis sales in the city until the state cannabis control board sets regulations

  • Communities must decide by the end of 2021 whether they will allow recreational pot dispensaries and lounges

  • Municipalities that do decide to ban recreational pot businesses can reverse course and opt back in later to allow its sales and use

  • Once a municipality opts in, municipal leaders cannot reverse course; but if the council votes to opt out, the community can still petition for a vote to allow recreational pot sales

Municipalities that do decide to ban recreational pot businesses can revserse course and opt back in later to allow its sales and use.

Once a municipality opts in and allows the industry in, municipal leaders cannot reverse course.

At a public hearing Tuesday and again during an interview Wednesday, DeStefano urged the City Council to hold off on opting in to recreational cannabis until the cannabis control board sets regulations.

“If we stay in, we’re in forever,” DeStefano said, “and you can’t change that, despite the fact there are no laws controlling how people would operate these facilities.”

DeStefano said he is especially concerned that children may be more frequently exposed to marijuana as public consumption has been legalized and the industry is just now budding. 

He wants this issue addressed before city leaders allow dispensaries and lounges to operate in Middletown.

“Is it right for somebody standing on a corner, as I’m standing there with my grandchild, smoking marijuana?” DeStefano asked. “Is that a good thing for a community?”

Back at Fuzion, owner Raymond Marquez, who is also a father, agreed with the mayor on opting out for the moment.

Marquez said he must consider his shop and the families he serves.

“We got a lot of kids here,” he said. “We don’t want kids and guys smoking weed outside. It doesn’t look good, especially for a business.”

Municipalities have through the end of this year to opt in or out of the recreational marijuana business, though dispensaries would likely not open until at least late 2022.

If the council votes to opt out, the community may still decide to allow recreational pot sales by petitioning for a referendum.