First Medical Marijuana Dispensary Opens in Dutchess County
Dutchess County recently welcomed its first medical marijuana dispensary on Route 9 South in Wappinger Falls, amid a wave of cannabis legislation sweeping through New York.
Citiva Medical, part of multi-state pot conglomerate iAnthus Capital, opened its Hudson Valley location Feb. 20 along the county’s most commercialized corridor. Its inception comes shortly after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled his plan to legalize adult-use, recreational marijuana within the next year. Citiva Hudson Valley is poised to sell recreational marijuana pending its legalization.
The 39,5000 square-foot, window-shop facility is immersed within a populated stretch of car dealerships, credit unions, and business offices. Its simple interior design forefronts various products, including medical marijuana vape cartridges, tinctures, capsules, and powders.
According to Communications Director Colleen Hughes, Citiva Hudson Valley is one of the organization’s four dispensaries permitted under New York State law. Citiva also houses a dispensary in Brooklyn.
“In New York, the legislation was set as such that the RO’s (registered organizations) were given areas in which they could locate their four dispensaries. The state wanted to spread out each RO’s dispensaries to ensure not everyone would locate in the metro area and most populous areas, and that all regions would have access to a dispensary,” Hughes said.
Hughes says that business has been “fairly stable” in Citiva’s two New York locations, though the company struggles to navigate strict government regulations crippling the state’s medical marijuana industry.
“There are struggles in navigating such a highly regulated and new industry, which presents unique challenges that don’t necessarily apply to any other industry considering the federal prohibition on cannabis,” Hughes said.
The bulk of issues that cannabis businesses face, Hughes said, center on lack of education and knowledge about the “safety and efficacy of cannabis as a medicine and wellness tool.”
“Stigma has always been an issue surrounding cannabis. People from all walks of life are already using it,” she said, noting that New York maintains the largest black marijuana market in the world. “It’s just not something people are comfortable talking about yet. Once legalization happens, I’m confident more folks will come out of the ‘green’ closet so to speak.”
Although Hughes sees stigmatization of marijuana as a primary obstacle to companies like Citiva, Matt Alexander, mayor of the Village of Wappinger Falls, does not believe the company’s development invoked any backlash from its surrounding community.
“I don’t think it’s something that people are terribly concerned about,” he said. “In New York, citizens are hard to shake up when it comes to stuff like this, unless it’s in their backyard.”
Alexander does worry that the potential legalization of recreational marijuana, however, may be problematic for a community heavily impacted by drug addiction.
“A few years ago, Wappinger Falls, the village, had one of the highest incidence of overdose within Dutchess County,” he said.
Though the mayor does not necessarily see marijuana as a “gateway drug”, he feels that its legalization may introduce extra dangers for people who have historically struggled with addiction.
“I’ve worked in the community of addiction recovery, I have heard some negative reaction — the negative reaction is not [about the dispensary] being in Wappinger, it’s a negative reaction about it being anywhere,” he said. “People from addiction recovery are worried that any drug that takes you out of the present moment is dangerous for people with addictive personalities.”
Alexander said he does see the virtue in companies like Citiva providing legal access to cannabis, offering consumers a safer alternative to the illicit market.
“I know they’re limiting how much you’re given. If it’s not such a hassle to go get the marijuana, you’re not going to need to get a larger amount, and you’re not going to have to get involved with dealers,” he said.
As of now, Citiva Hudson Valley’s consumer base is limited to a small group of patients whose condition qualifies them for a New York medical cannabis card. These conditions include severe and chronic illnesses, among them cancer, HIV/AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder, and Parkinson’s disease.
But with Cuomo’s pivot toward legalization of recreational marijuana, this list of qualifying conditions might soon expand.
“We feel that as the prohibitions are lifted state to state, and eventually on a national level, more institutions and hospitals will be free to participate in rigorous clinical trials that are currently prevented by the federal regulations,” Hughes said.
“What we hope to continue is our level of education and patient consultations, even in the adult use market, because not everyone who self medicates with cannabis is using it optimally for their body, because they were never shown how to find their optimal dose. Our educational efforts and resources will continue to guide patients through their healing journeys in a responsible way.”
