Oneida, N.Y. — After much deliberation, the Oneida Common Council voted 4-2 to opt-out of licensing and establishing retail cannabis dispensaries and on-site consumption establishments within the city.
Members of the council voiced support for retail dispensaries but wanted to opt-in at a later time if they so choose.
Preceding the vote was a final plea from residents asking the council to make legal cannabis legally accessible within the city.
Dee Schaefer, who spoke at the public hearing two weeks ago on the local law, stated, “If one of the concerns is driving under the influence, you do have to consider alcohol as well.” She continued, “I don’t now use medical marijuana, but there may become a time when I need to and frankly, I would rather use cannabis other than opioids to control my pain level. Opioids are horribly addictive. Just look at the drug problem in our city. Heroin, methamphetamines, they are killing our young people.”
She said she hoped spending on cannabis could be done in the city, legally, instead of elsewhere.
Todd Peveler stated to the council, “Why would we pass up the revenue now when we can have something that we can sell that is legal?” He said the arguments he’s seen online against allowing cannabis sales don’t make sense to him, and that they’re largely about something that used to be illegal, but now is legal. Marijuana is legal in Oneida.
Jacob Cornell, co-owner of Cornell’s Greenhaus, which currently sells CBD and hemp products, stated, “If it means anything at all, take a look at what Morrisville and Norwich have done, which is that they opted out of on-site consumption lounges.” These establishments would be the cannabis bars and cannabis cafes that people would go to and then use the product and then drive home, he explained.
“Opt-out of that and opt into dispensaries,” he urged the council.
“Marijuana dispensaries are prohibited under the marijuana regulation and taxation act from allowing people from using cannabis on the property,” he added. He said his business will also be doing a lot to prevent people from driving while high. “At the end of the day, we just want to do this in a business professional way, and we want to be a well-meaning member of the community. We don’t want to be seen any different than a liquor store is seen as or a place where you can go to purchase an adult product. If you don’t like the product, you don’t need to go there. You don’t need to purchase it.”
Resident Heather Ryerson said she used to live next to active drug dealing. “I desperately, desperately, desperately want anything that will cut down on the black market.”
She agreed that on-site consumption establishments could be set aside, but urged the council to act quickly and get legislation sorted out rather than opting out now. “I feel it’s a waste of time, you’re just forcing citizens to a referendum. There’s clearly a lot of support. Just start working on it now, do the regulations you want to see in these businesses now, don’t waste more time, don’t kick the football down the road,” she said.
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The Oneida Common Council deliberated over a vote to opt-out of allowing cannabis business activity in the city. Nov. 16, 2021.As the opt-out law came up on the agenda, Ward 1 Councilor Carrie Earl stated, “I would like to propose that we do split that…I really would like to see the piece split for the dispensaries without the consumption establishments.” Ward 3 Councilor Jim Coulthart voiced his agreement. The law that was on the agenda opted out of both.
City Attorney Nadine Bell told the council their options if they want to exclude on-site consumption establishments from functioning in the city but allow dispensaries. They can either: amend the local law to opt-out of only on-site consumption, go through the public hearing process, and then vote on the new law, which would all be a tight squeeze before the Dec. 31, 2021 opt-out deadline, but still possible with one more meeting in November and three in December; or, they can vote this local law through (which opts out of both), then introduce a new local law, at any time without a deadline, to opt back into just the retail dispensaries.
Municipalities have the limited ability to regulate dispensaries and on-site consumption businesses once they’re approved to operate. These regulations include zoning districts and hours of operation. Bell noted that local laws to regulate these entities don’t have a deadline. The council can approve their operation then regulate them, if they so choose, at a later time.
Ward 5 Councilor Brandee DuBois said to Earl and Coulthart, “I don’t disagree with you two, like I don’t think it’s a bad idea [to separate them], I just think that it’s going to be pushing it in a month.” She added that she won’t be present in December to cast her vote.
There are certain incentives to giving dispensaries the green light as soon as possible, Earl said to consider. “I can tell you there’s stores in our city right now selling [cannabis],” she said. Allowing legal sales may discourage businesses from acting illegally and jeopardizing their chance to get a license. There’s also the tax revenue, she added, which the longer the city waits, the more it misses out on.
Ward 6 Council Tom Simchik also voiced his support for the retail dispensaries and not the on-site consumption establishments, though he wanted to opt-out now then opt-in later.
“If we’re going to do it, why not just do it now?” Earl asked the council.
Coulthart added, “This seems to be kicking it down the road for something that it sounds like everybody is open, or sounds like many people, I can’t speak for everybody, are open to the dispensary idea.”
Ward 4 Councilor Michelle Kinville, who wanted to vote on the law then opt back in later, stated, “It takes the pressure off to get it done by December 31st.”
Ultimately, the majority of the council decided to vote for the law as it stood to opt-out of both dispensaries and on-site consumption. Coulthart and Earl wanted not to vote, and the two also voted against the opt-out law when it came to a vote.
“I reached out to many constituents in my ward and I literally did a tally,” Earl said. “So, they were very concerned about the tax dollars and where things were going and felt the state had been good with it, so I’m going to vote this down because I don’t want to opt-out for my constituents.”
Members of the audience at the meeting left in a huff after the law was passed.
One reason the council considered opting out of both cannabis business activities now was that there are still new regulations rolling in from the state and everything is still brand new. Although, the co-owner of Cornell’s Greenhaus said that it could take years before everything is finalized and to the council’s liking.
“It could take years. The majority of California municipalities are opted out of marijuana dispensaries…most of them said they had plans to opt back in. It took a long time for them. Most of them are still not even opted back in. 75% of marijuana dispensaries are unlicensed and are actually black market dispensaries,” he said.
The city attorney noted that there is no urgency for the council via a deadline to opt-in to the cannabis business activity. That urgency is at their own discretion.
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Oneida council opts-out of retail cannabis dispensaries and on-site consumption establishments - Oneida Dispatch
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