First cannabis dispensary to open in Woodstock stymied by distance requirements

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Maybe the first place in New York you’d expect to find a legal cannabis store would be Woodstock — the artsy upstate town synonymous with Bob Dylan, The Band and the legendary ‘69 music fest.

But it hasn’t exactly worked out that way.

Currently, there are no dispensaries in the town, and the one applicant with a recently approved license is unable to open because of a battle brewing between the town and the state Office of Cannabis Management over distance requirements to a house of worship.

Woodstock Supervisor Bill McKenna makes no bones about where he stands on the matter.

“It’s horrible. It’s terrible,” the way OCM has “violated” its own distance regulations by approving a cannabis store site application within 200 feet of a church, McKenna said.

At its June 11 meeting, OCM approved Melissa Gibson’s adult-use retail dispensary license for 17 Tinker St., near the heart of town. Operating under the name “Plant Meets Public, LLC,” the dispensary would be just 150 feet from the historic Woodstock Reformed Church and just a stone’s throw from the Village Green.

“I’ve been in touch with them since January on this,” the supervisor said, “and they have totally ignored the information we gave them,” including concerns raised by church members and community members.

The OCM told NY Cannabis Insider that Gibson’s location has been reviewed and determined compliant with cannabis law and regulations around distance requirements.

“The key factor is that the Woodstock Reformed Church’s main entrance is not on the same street as the proposed dispensary,” an OCM spokesperson said. “The 200-foot rule applies only to houses of worship located on the same street.”

While noting that he supported efforts to open a legal weed shop in town, the supervisor said a moratorium on cannabis stores was a possibility until town zoning rules were adopted.

McKenna said he was in the process of drafting language for the town planning board and the county planning board that would prohibit cannabis dispensaries from opening within 200 feet of a house of worship, 500 feet from a school and 200 feet from the Village Green.

It’s been OCM’s contention that the Woodstock Reformed Church did not fit the strict definition of a church because of other activities taking place there, McKenna said.

But that’s ludicrous, he added, since nearly every church or synagogue is used for other purposes, like “bingo, AA meetings and child care.”

In a parting shot, McKenna said, “who would’ve thought that in the greatest state in the union, after they legalized it in California and Colorado, that it would be such a mess that they ended up canning the director.”

The Rev. Cari Pattison, pastor of the Woodstock Reformed Church, noted that she was approached by Gibson back in March and apprised of her plans, but the pastor emphasized that the church was “neutral” and took no position on which businesses should be situated in the town.

She did verify, however, that the church “almost acted like a community center,” hosting groups like “Meals on Wheels, a dozen AA groups, a Buddhist meditation group and a cancer support group.”

Regarding the OCM statement released to NY Cannabis Insider on Tuesday, the information contained in it “is accurate,” the pastor said.

“We’re glad people can sell it legally now,” she added, but it’s “up to the town board and the planning board” to figure out where the shops can locate.

Gibson, who has run Hemp & Humanity (a women-owned CBD and cannabinoid store) on Tinker Street since 2020, said she was “undeterred” in her mission to be the first legal dispensary to open in town.

“I’m not naïve enough to think there wouldn’t be anybody without some questions or concerns.”

At the same time, she said she fully expected to be the first retail cannabis dispensary to open in the Town of Woodstock.

“That’s for sure,” she said, adding that she was happy to keep serving the community and looked forward to working with the supervisor and the town board going forward.