Cannabis retail sales turn a profit

Permitting retail sales of cannabis in limited areas of the Town of Warwick has proven to be beneficial to the town and its villages.

During the Nov. 20 Warwick Town Board meeting, Supervisor Jesse Dwyer reported that a combined $100,000 in retail sales tax from the sale of cannabis will be distributed to the town and villages of Warwick, Florida and Greenwood Lake next year.

Dwyer said that New York allows certain municipalities to opt out of permitting these types of sales in their community. He shared that several years ago, during his time as mayor of Greenwood Lake, the Town of Warwick and its villages made a deal that the villages would opt out of permitting retail sales of cannabis in their jurisdictions and the town would permit the sales in two designated zones: the area by Ronald Reagan Boulevard and the area near Price Chopper and the Dodge dealership.

“This is a really beneficial thing to support our government. We look forward to sharing that with the villages as we have historically done situations like this would arise,” Dwyer said.

Dwyer added that town residents should expect to see surveys asking for feedback on town parks and outdoor recreation, as the town develops its parks masterplan. He also said that the town will soon launch a new website dedicated to providing information on all the parks within the Town of Warwick.