Huntington Town Board Opts Out Of Marijuana Sales Unanimously

HUNTINGTON, NY — The Huntington Town Board unanimously opted out of marijuana sales within the township at its Tuesday meeting.

The board voted 5-0, according to a town spokeswoman. New York state law allows retail cannabis and sites for people to consume the drug, but the Town of Huntington will not host any of those sites. At least not yet, as Supervisor Chad Lupinacci said the incoming town board could revisit the issue.

"As a quality of life measure, we've prohibited the consumption of marijuana on public property, including streets, sidewalks and parks, while opting out of the state law at this time to give the next Town Board the flexibility to observe the roll-out in other municipalities to determine whether or not a change of course would be beneficial to the Town," Lupinacci stated.

The current town board is composed of Lupinacci, Mark Cuthbertson, Eugene Cook, Joan Cergol and Edmund Smyth.

Smyth, a Republican, won the election as the town's next supervisor. Dave Bennardo and Salvatore Ferro, both Republicans, are set to join Cook, a Republican who ran for supervisor on the Stop LIPA line; and Cergol, who is the lone Democrat on the town board.

Cuthbertson lost to Stephanie Bontempi in the race for Suffolk's 18th Legislative District.

There are still options to have marijuana in Huntington, according to Newsday. Everyone over the age of 21 can grow three mature plants and three immature plants at home, Lupinacci said, Newsday reported.