High priority

This year, New York joined forward-thinking states in legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, an overdue move to establish an expansive new industry that will fuel job creation and tax revenue for the state, while ending the racially disproportionate arresting and prosecution of those who buy, sell and use the drug. But the dispensaries are nowhere to be found yet.

Though the substance is safe for sensible adult consumption, some local officials around New York are understandably skittish about the specifics of setting up and overseeing dispensaries and onsite consumption spots in their jurisdictions.

Now, they’re coming up on a Dec. 31 deadline for cities and and towns to opt out of allowing these businesses to operate, which would also opt them out of receiving a share of the tax revenue, with little clear insight into what exactly the state’s policies and restrictions will be around such sites. After a marked delay in the creation of the Cannabis Control Board and appointment of leadership for the Office of Cannabis Management — which advocates attribute to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo failing to act as he was engulfed by scandal — the end of the year is approaching with no specific licensing procedures in place, which is leading local leaders to opt out due to sheer uncertainty.

According to a tracker maintained by the Rockefeller Institute, more than 700 municipalities so far have opted out of at least one of the two licenses they can say no to — dispensaries and on-site use — with more potentially joining them ahead of tomorrow’s cutoff. Those that don’t opt out are automatically opted in, a designation that can’t be reversed, meaning that many might be choosing to opt out simply to wait and see where the regulations land before they’re locked in.

It’s too late now to salvage the situation this year, but the CCB and OCM should act fast to draw up and implement the relevant regulations to avoid further delays. Post-COVID local economies can use a new economic driver.