Medical marijuana dispensary to be sited in former Blockbuster location on Rt. 58, supervisor says; board talks moratorium

A company awarded one of the five state medical marijuana licenses will open in the former Blockbuster location on Route 58, according to Supervisor Sean Walter.

Walter said company representatives from Columbia Care, which was awarded the license two weeks ago, met with him on Friday.

He revealed the location to board members at this morning’s work session after Councilman John Dunleavy asked the board to consider a moratorium to block the opening of the dispensary until the town can study its implications.

Riverhead Community Awareness Program executive director Felicia Scocozza, who was at the work session to discuss the town’s alcohol policy at community events, also advocated for a moratorium. She said retail marijuana locations will lead to increased recreational use of the drug because they make it more acceptable. That will lead to increased underage use as well, she said.

Walter said he wants the town board to meet with representatives from Columbia Care before taking any action. He cautioned taking that course of action because he said it will lead to certain litigation.

Councilwoman Jodi Giglio joined the call for a moratorium. She said the site is already zoned for retail use and the company would not need to get any permit from the town board to open there. It will need only a building permit, she said.

The board agreed to meet with the company and Walter said he will invite them to come in.

Dunleavy, the town board liaison to CAP, was irate that the company representatives met with the supervisor and he did not tell the board about it.

The board asked the town attorney to draft a proposed moratorium for further discussion.

Riverhead will be one of two Long Island towns where medical marijuana will be sold. The other Long Island dispensary will be in Nassau and will be run by Bloomfield Industries of Staten Island, which will manufacture the product at a facility in Queens.

Columbia Care, which is opening the Riverhead dispensary, will grow the plants and manufacture the forms of the drug approved for medicinal sale at a 204,000-square-foot agricultural facility in Rochester.

Pursuant to state regulations, the drug will be sold only in non-smokeable forms, including pills, oils and vapors, and be accessible to patients with conditions including cancer, HIV/AIDS, Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathies and Huntington’s disease, among others.