BY ANDY GARDNER
North Country This Week

MASSENA – Village trustees are signalling that at least initially, they will stick to state guidelines to regulate cannabis sales and on-site consumption when the commercial aspect of cannabis regulation kicks in next year.

Massena lawmakers had the discussion during their Tuesday, May 18 Board of Trustees meeting.

Mayor Tim Ahlfeld said after talking to the police chief and chief code officer, “they agreed it probably would be best if we just stuck to the way it’s written” in the new state law. It legalized possession of up to three ounces of cannabis, or 24 grams of cannabis concentrate.

The law also regulates where dispensaries can be located. They are restricted from operating near schools and churches, Chief Code Officer Aaron Hardy said.

“The state’s already got a lot of guidance, rules and regulations in place already,” Hardy said. “I talked to the mayor and we agreed they’ve done a lot of research, a lot of homework.”

He noted that a dispensary’s location would be regulated by the village Planning Board. They wouldn’t allow the dispensary to open if its location was proposed within a zone that state law restricts.

Deputy Mayor Matt Lebire said he was concerned that the police may need additional training for dealing with drivers who may be impaired from cannabis use.

Chief Jason Olson said village officers already have that training.

“We’re trained to do DWI drugs ... we’ve been handling it for years,” Olson said. “We’ll enforce it. We’ve been enforcing it for years.”

Ahlfeld suggested they try to gauge public sentiment on whether or not the village should be more restrictive than what the state allows.

“I would suggest we consider putting together a quick one-page fact sheet, put it out to the community and let us give them their feedback,” he said. “We might be surprised.”