Cannabis farmers’ markets likely to begin August 10 in New Paltz

Village of New Paltz trustees are exploring new ways to use the 2.81 acres of village public lands along Plattekill Avenue. It’s the location of ample parking and most village offices, but the relocation of the fire department has opened up possibilities both inside and outside of those buildings. Trustees are trying to ensure that how this space is used will be to the best possible public benefit.

First up was supporting a “cannabis growers showcase,” which is government-speak for a weed farmers’ market. Rick Weissman and Tricia Horst, the owners of High Falls Hemp, are looking to set up one of these especially green farmers markets to address a problem cannabis growers statewide are presently facing: there are too few legal places to sell their product. With only a couple dozen distribution licenses having been issued, legal pot farmers — who planted crops this year because they believed that government bureaucracy is created faster than plants grow — are unable to get to consumers who may be perfectly willing to consume this legal product. Weissman and Horst have 85% of the cannabis they grew this year left to sell. 

State officials have authorized establishing these “showcases” as a stopgap way to get those legal dealers to move this legal product out of the warehouses kept by legal growers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are plenty of rules to follow. Cannabis grower showcases must be on public property and include no fewer than three farmers and one distributor. There can also be a “producer” for every three farmers; this being someone authorized to turn the buds into some other form, such as food. 

Village officials are agreeable to holding such a market in the back corner of the village parking lot on Plattekill, a lot which isn’t used by firefighters or for town court business, as both of those operations have been relocated. Town police are aware of the plans, but don’t anticipate any issues. What’s proposed might be completely unrecognizable to any of the handful of New Paltz residents who actually attended Woodstock in 1969. The showcase can’t include any entertainment, refreshments other than water, or free samples, causing Mayor Tim Rogers to quip, “There should be no fun being had.” The area will be roped off to restrict access to individuals 21 and older, plus babies young enough to remain in a stroller. All product will be sealed, and labeling will include details about the amount of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, warnings about side effects, and lab reports. Growers will display their wares, but only the distributor is allowed to make the sale. ID will be scanned both on access and when making a purchase. 

A village staff member will be on site when the market is open, which is expected to be Thursdays and Fridays 4-8 p.m. and Saturdays 1-8 p.m. Lighting, when needed, will be from strings of low-voltage bulbs. Traffic and other factors will be monitored, and Rogers was clear that this authorization will be reviewed weekly, if necessary, and could be cancelled at any time. If and when a pot shop is opened in New Paltz, the market will be closed permanently. 

There was some discussion about what village paperwork is appropriate to complete, but most of the bureaucracy remains at the state level. A letter of support will be sent, but state officials will make the call on whether this will move forward in their own time. 

Music in the house

Inside Village Hall there’s been a lot of rearranging of offices and other spaces, including what must have been a heroic effort in bringing a mammoth meeting table downstairs into what used to be the fire department space. Right next door is a roomy three-bay garage that didn’t feel quite as roomy when firefighters had to cram four trucks into it, with inches to spare. This unheated space has recently been used for rehearsals of Bloom, a women’s choral ensemble the members of which include Michele Zipp, a current trustee. Ellen Rocco, a neighbor of the space who has in the past worked on updates to the village’s noise ordinance, commented at the July 26 meeting about being lured closer by the siren-sweet singing that echoed off the hard walls. 

While no one has suggested that these rehearsals are at all noisy, members’ desire to continue rehearsing in that space weekly prompted a discussion about ensuring equity. Mayor Rogers expressed a concern about booking time in the space over the long haul before there was a process to make it known more widely that there’s space available at all. Rogers also noted that making this space usable in the colder months could cost many thousands of dollars. 

Several members of the group did attend to explain the challenges of finding a suitable space that is also affordable, or to talk about the importance of the arts in general. 

The mayor’s position by the end of the discussion was unwavering around the idea of being “hyper-transparent” in how the space is made available to members of the public.