Huntington, NY Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

Chapter 90 of the Town Code, adopted by the Town Board on December 14, 2021 as Local Law No. 2-2022, exercises the opt-out power New York State's Cannabis Law gives to municipalities. Section 90-1 states the legislative intent plainly: opting out of allowing cannabis retail dispensaries and on-site cannabis consumption sites that would otherwise be permitted under Cannabis Law Article 4. Section 90-2 grounds that choice in Cannabis Law § 131, which lets a town board adopt a local law asking the state Cannabis Control Board to prohibit dispensary and on-site consumption licenses within its borders, subject to a permissive referendum under Municipal Home Rule Law § 24.

The operative opt-out itself sits at § 90-3: the Town Board opts out of allowing cannabis retail dispensaries and on-site cannabis consumption sites from being established and operated anywhere within the town's jurisdiction. Because the opt-out ran through a permissive referendum process, § 90-5 notes no valid petition was ever filed to force a public vote, so the law stood as adopted. Section 90-6 made the opt-out effective immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State. The opt-out reaches only retail dispensaries and on-site consumption lounges; it does not touch adult-use possession or personal cultivation, which remain governed by state law statewide, nor does it reach licensed cannabis cultivation, processing or distribution facilities, which fall outside the categories a town is permitted to opt out of under Cannabis Law § 131.