BY ANDY GARDNER

North Country This Week

MASSENA – Massena code officials are looking into what changes they would have to make at the local level to accommodate legal cannabis businesses. Recreational cannabis legalization and regulation is being considered as part of the 2021-22 New York state budget.

At the February Board of Trustees meeting, Deputy Mayor Matt Lebire reported that the Code Committee is now studying that area.

“We are currently exploring impacts on if the state legalizes marijuana, and how we may need to adjust our codes,” Lebire said.

Aaron Hardy, Massena’s fire department foreman and chief code officer, said he’s been looking into local codes in other states that have legalized cannabis for recreational use. It’s currently legal in New York state for medicinal use. It has to be prescribed by a doctor and acquired from a medical dispensary, the nearest being in Plattsburgh.

“Right now, we’re looking at local codes anywhere from California to Colorado. I’m just starting to look at the documentation up in Maine,” Hardy said. 

He said researching codes in place elsewhere is a common approach to adding or amending Massena’s existing codes.

“We like to look at other municipalities' rules and regulations, see how they’ve worked for them, and try to use portions of their codes so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Hardy said. 

He said right now, he’s focusing on things that would deal with cannabis shops, or dispensaries. That includes regulations like where they’re allowed to be located, and where they aren’t. 

“There are a lot of rules and regulations in some of these states,” Hardy said. “We’re trying to work through what could work best for the Massena community.”

If the village government decides to amend their local code to accommodate cannabis businesses, it would be subject to a public hearing where people would get to give input to the board members prior to any vote.

“When it finally comes time to look to put something on the books, the village is obviously going to have a public hearing on it, and we always look forward to public feedback, as these are rules and regulations for the community. Everyone in the community should be allowed to have input,” Hardy said.

Massena currently has several liquor stores operating within village zoning. Also, most grocery stores, gas stations and drug stores in the village sell things like beer, wine, and malt beverages.

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