Almost Half of New York Towns Opt Out of Pot, for Now

‘Not in my backyard,’ towns say

Around half of New York cities and towns don’t want marijuana dispensaries or consumption lounges, a cautionary signal for companies hoping to do business in the Empire State.

New York is expected to start recreational marijuana sales in the next year or so, likely becoming the second-biggest market after California, with around $4.2 billion in projected sales. Yet when given a Dec. 31 deadline to opt out of participating, 47% of the state’s 1,521 municipalities opted out of having dispensaries and 54% opted out of having consumption sites, according to data compiled by the Rockefeller Institute of Government as of Jan. 7.