Previously Published in The Messenger
By Matt Meduri
Since 2021, New York State has been gradually rolling out the legalization of recreational marijuana. Municipalities were given the choice whether to sign onto the program (opt-in), which entails the repealing of local laws prohibiting adult-use retail dispensary and/or on-site consumption licenses – if such laws exist – and notify the State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).
The Town of Islip has remained opted-out of the program, but debate continues to swirl among the public over whether recreational, adult-only dispensaries belong in the Town of Islip. The Town will still have local control of regulations and manners of operation of the shops and lounges.
Opting-in is a permanent decision, and one that proponents argue could lead to a windfall of revenue for the Town, while also gradually pushing out illegal dispensaries that operate outside the OCM’s guidelines and database.
Opponents, however, argue that marijuana continues to be a “gateway drug”, and that Islip residents would see an increase in impaired driving and the safety concerns it entails.
At last week’s Town Council meeting, several speakers utilized the public portion to espouse their views on the matter.
“Take the Town of Babylon, for example. There have been no issues there, positive cash flow for the communities, and many jobs created – including former officers that are now security guards [at dispensaries] who I know myself,” said Hugo Rivas, co-founder of the Long Island Cannabis Coalition (LICC).
Rivas says that LICC had delivered the Town Council “information and pamphlets” informing on cannabis.
“There were a lot of statements made at that public hearing,” Rivas said, referencing a contentious April meeting that saw a packed house at Town Hall. “A lot of the information we provided disproves all those things,” adding that some information against his campaign was “false.”
Rivas added that a supporter of the LICC’s initiative is former Suffolk County Police Department Commissioner Rodney Harrison.
“He’s actually opened a business in cannabis, and he has a security company as well,” said Rivas. “Cannabis is important; it brings safety. There are people like Mr. Harrison who sees the opportunity in cannabis and wants to be a part of it as well.”
Rivas says that the growing industry will help create “many, many, many” jobs to people “not considered.”
“We are willing to provide those opportunities,” said Rivas, adding that he started a program to encourage dispensaries to hire Veterans and former police officers. He also created a non-profit soccer program for kids, which he says points to his credentials as a community “businessman.” The non-profit, according to Rivas, takes kids to soccer games when their families can’t afford them.
Veronica Builes, Senior Program Coordinator for Youth Enrichment Services (YES), brought an opposing view to that of Mr. Rivas. YES, founded in 1987, serves children and their families on Long Island, often advocating against drug use and encouraging addiction and mental health services.
“I’m standing here not as somebody with a political agenda, but as a mother whose heart is heavy with worry about what these proposed cannabis shops could mean to our community,” said Builes, a Brentwood mother of three who works to support before- and after school programs in Brentwood, Central Islip, and Bay Shore, among other communities.
“This community [Brentwood] is thriving and innovative, and we’re working hard to create opportunities for our families to build business that serve our community, to ensure that our children have access to good schools and safe neighborhoods,” said Builes, adding that she feels the proposal to opt-in “isn’t happening by accident.”
“For too long, businesses that other communities do not want placed in their neighborhoods are placed in neighborhoods like ours [Brentwood]. We’ve seen it with liquor stores, payday loan businesses, and other establishments that propose economic benefits but often bring challenges that our families bear the burden of managing,” said Builes. “While wealthier communities debate and often reject these proposals, are we being told that this is good for us? Are we being promised jobs and tax revenue while other communities protect their children from these influences? What does it say when we allow these businesses that other communities reject to be part of our daily landscape?”
Debbie Cavanagh, a retired Central Islip High School teacher, thanked Supervisor Angie Carpenter (R-West Islip) for “taking the lead against cannabis” and shared that Asian countries are no longer supporting cannabis shops due to health issues.
“These health issues include popcorn lung, heart damage, and seizures in young people,” said Cavanagh. “Cannabis is a drug; it is a gateway drug. If any of you [the Town Council] votes for it [to opt-in], please put the dispensaries in your community, not Central Islip. It’s bad enough we are the dumping ground for sex offenders, but we are not the dumping ground for cannabis shops.”
Cavanagh also thanked the Town for its State and national leadership in “going purple” every September to highlight addiction awareness and services, as well as breaking the stigma around seeking help.
“We hope to continue to be the lead in Islip’s struggle against opioids and drugs,” said Cavanagh.
Rhonda Nedderman, Director of Prevention at YES, and a forty-year Central Islip resident, called the consideration to opt-in “extremely embarrassing and contradictory”, especially given the Town’s “go purple” effort.
“It says month-long, but it’s a daily effort every time there is mention to opt-in for cannabis retail,” said Nedderman, adding that her thirteenyear-old daughter and eleven-year-old son “need to see positive images” as they ride through Town.
“They, nor any resident, should have to be in fear of being hit while walking, riding a bike, or traveling in a car by anyone who is under the influence of marijuana or any other illicit substance, and God forbid the combination of cannabis and alcohol,” said Nedderman. “Risk of car collision increases twofold after smoking cannabis and driving is impaired for up to four-and-a-half hours after smoking cannabis, despite a false sense of driving safely.”
Nedderman shared a statistic from the National Transportation Safety Board: 24% of fatal crashes in 2023 on Long Island had a driver under the influence of a substance involving cannabis and other drugs, ranging from fentanyl to amphetamines. She also shared another, that 64% of local jurisdictions in Colorado banned recreational cannabis businesses, despite the state being a national pioneer for recreational marijuana.
Leslie Rodriguez, a licensed medical cannabis patient, spoke in favor of the Town opting-in. She described herself as a patient who went “heavy into natural, plant-based solutions after receiving three spinal fusions” to her neck and lower back.
“I am one of the few who the State reimbursed my medical cannabis as an alternative to opioids. Having cannabis as my main source of pain management has allowed me to excel in my recovery while maintaining a healthy, non-addictive lifestyle,” said Rodriguez, adding her pre-existing status as a board-certified licensed massage therapist “drove” her education further into treating patients who suffer from anxiety, depression, opioid addiction, and substance abuse.
“My passion stems from saving lives with no accidental overdoses due to prescription medication. I am a proud advocate of the Long Island Cannabis Coalition,” said Rodriguez. “We need your [the Town’s] support to engage on a broader scale, and opt-in to provide the community with safe, healthy, regulated, lab-tested products.”
Rodriguez also said that the move would help “contribute to the Town’s bottom line with every legal purchase made”, with strict regulations to ensure no one under twenty-one years of age can gain access to these dispensaries.
Ryan Olson, a social worker in Brentwood and Islip hamlet, says that he’s the person dealing with the fallout from dispensaries, suggesting the Town opt-out.
“The first time we were here giving comments, we waited downstairs in the lobby in a cloud of smoke. The whole place reeked of marijuana,” said Olson. “To think that the people who were pro-marijuana, who smelled like marijuana, were not here, and did not drive here under the influence, you’d be kidding yourself. But by putting pot dispensaries in these neighborhoods, you’re going to deal with more people, more drug trafficking.”
Olson referenced a recent Newsday article that covered a nineteen-year-old Central Islip kid who was killed by a driver impaired by marijuana. He also referenced Thailand, which legalized recreational marijuana in 2019, “made a ton of money”, and is now in a “public health crisis.”
“The cost of it has increased sixfold in their community, and now they’re trying to get rid of it. If you look at California or Massachusetts, thousands of dispensaries are going out of business. The money just isn’t there,” said Olson.
The debate continues as the Town also continues to deliberate their decision ahead of a formal vote.