KINGSTON, N.Y. — The nine members of the city’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act task force have been selected and will meet periodically over 12 months to help guide the city in its limited authority over the time, place, and manner of retail cannabis operations, according to a press release.
The members of the task force are Joseph Baganz, Essie Baker, Amberly Jane Campbell, Stuart Chernoff, Jeremy Cherson, Steve Ellman, Mandy Geyer, Willie Johnson, and John Mazzone.
In addition to helping guide the city, the task force will help to amplify community voices regarding enforcement concerns and goals for how revenues from the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act can be reinvested to achieve the law’s social equity objectives, the release said.
“Marijuana regulation is new for all of us and we want to make sure we support this new industry in the right ways, to ensure that our residents benefit from this economic development opportunity,” Mayor Steve Noble said in a statement.
The state legalized the recreational use of marijuana in March 2021 and gave cities and towns across the state until Dec. 31 of that year to opt out of allowing pot shops and/or lounges. But while municipalities could ban sales and on-site consumption within their borders, they could not prohibit businesses that cultivate, process, or transport cannabis.
The city did not opt out of allowing licensing for local dispensaries and on-site consumption of cannabis within the municipality limits.
In June, the Common Council adopted a resolution to create the task force.
“The MRTA task force is a proactive measure and useful tool for Kingston to move forward in the industry in a way that can focus on social justice and fairness to all,” Common Council President Andrea Shaut said in a statement. “This is an opportunity for the city to consider the wrongs of previous laws, and how they unjustly held back members of our society. We now have the chance to do it better, and with this team, I have the confidence they will carry their wide range of perspectives to do just that.”
