With virtually nothing suitable for retail cannabis dispensaries within Brookhaven’s borders, licensed operators are threatening lawsuits unless the town changes its tune.
Hugo Rivas, a member of the Long Island Cannabis Coalition, has had a particularly rough go – even though he’s held a Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary license since April.
Rivas, of Central Islip, said he’s filed three applications with the Town of Brookhaven to operate a dispensary. Thus far, he’s got nothing to show for his efforts to rebuild his life and support his family.
On top of the disappointment of being turned away because of the town’s highly restrictive zoning laws pertaining to weed stores, there’s the small matter of legal expenses.
Well, perhaps not that small.
“It cost me and my partner over $100,00. We hired an attorney from the beginning,” he said. “That’s not an exaggeration.”
Rivas, CEO of Toke Folks LLC, said he had one application turned aside because his planned dispensary location was located 700 feet from a baseball batting cage. It “just doesn’t make any sense,” he said.
Unlike most towns on Long Island, Brookhaven chose not to opt out of the New York State recreational cannabis program after the passing of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act. (The