HUDSON — The town of Kinderhook and the villages of Valatie and Kinderhook are forming a joint committee to look at cannabis.
“I have spoken to both the mayor of Valatie and the mayor of the village of Kinderhook,” Kinderhook Town Supervisor Patsy Leader said. “The three of us are going to form a committee dealing with the cannabis. We are looking for a few other people to be on the committee besides myself and the two mayors.”
The committee will discuss the state’s new legalized marijuana laws and look at the guidelines for it.
“It’s not going to be a big committee, but it would be a committee to talk about it and see where our guidelines are so we can educate ourselves and our community also,” Leader said. “If anybody has interest, I need a letter of interest sent to my email or mailed to me at the town hall.”
Leader said she has spoken with the state Comptroller’s Office and the Office of the state Assembly multiple times asking about guidance.
“I spoke with the state Comptroller’s Office and the Assembly Office again and again and again and they still have not created any committee as of yet,” Leader said.
She has been told that state police is going to have some say on the guidelines.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation in March legalizing adult-use marijuana. The legislation provides licensing for marijuana producers, distributors, retailers and other actors in the cannabis market, and creates a social and economic equity program to assist individuals disproportionately impacted by cannabis enforcement who want to participate in the industry.
Cities, towns and villages have the choice to opt-out of allowing adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries or on-site consumption licenses. If a municipality does not want to allow dispensaries or on-site consumption licenses, they have until Dec. 31, 2021, to pass a local law opting out.
Municipalities do not have the option to opt-out after that date, but if a municipality opts out by the date, they have the choice to opt in at any time. All municipalities that do not opt out are automatically opted in by default. Municipalities cannot opt out of adult-use legalization, but can opt out of allowing retail dispensaries or on-site consumption licenses.
“We’d have to look at where we could put these places,” Leader said. “Nobody knows where they can go or what the guidelines are yet.”
The law does not allow retail dispensaries or on-site consumption licensees to be located within 500 feet of school property or within 250 feet of a house of worship.
Leader said she is uncertain about the role traffic may play if retail sites and consumptions locations come to the area. She said in Massachusetts, cities such as Pittsfield and Great Barrington, which have retail dispensaries, sometimes have a police officer directing traffic because of the heavy volume.
The wholesale excise tax will be moved to the retail level with a 9% state excise tax. The local excise tax rate for cannabis will be 4 percent of the retail price. Counties will receive 25% of the local retail tax revenue and 75 percent will go to the municipality, according to the state website.