The ReLeaf Market Owner Kerry Trammel

A Kiantone business is one of 52 businesses granted a conditional license to grow cannabis in New York State.

The ReLeaf Market, located on Foote Avenue Extension, got the news Thursday, April 14 from the state. Owner Kerry Trammel said one of the qualifications required to get the license that the Releaf Market met was that they had been growing hemp for two years.

She said while Kiantone has opted out of allowing retail dispensaries and consumption lounges, the cultivation of cannabis is still legal in the town.

Trammel said that ReLeaf Market is only licensed to grow cannabis at this time, “Basically, we’re cultivating the cannabis so that when dispensary licenses are given out, they have a product that they can purchase from us and sell to the communities.”

She said that they can cultivate up to one-acre of a farm they have in Chautauqua County or grow in a greenhouse that has a maximum size of 20,000 square feet. If both are done, the grow space is limited to 30,000 square feet, “We can hold a cultivation license, the conditional cultivation license, for two years. And after that two years we can already be applied for one of the other licenses that has come out or apply for the cultivation license to continue. So we have an option. Hopefully, those licenses will be out before the two years are up.”

Trammel said the whole process of starting to grow cannabis is highly regulated, “It’s going to be modeled more like the medical side of it – lots of security, everything is tracked seed to sale, so we’ll have bar codes on everything and fences around all of the property. So, yeah, it’s a lot of work to get done in a short amount of time.”

Trammel said they hope to start planting by June 12 with the hope that some dispensaries will have received licensing so that they can sell their product by the end of the year.

Jamestown City Council

Jamestown City Council President Tony Dolce confirmed to WRFA that despite the introduction of local law last month calling for the city to “opt out” of allowing cannabis dispensaries to operate within the city as well as to allow on-site consumption of cannabis products, the council has decided it will take no action on the proposal.

As a result, there will be no public hearing scheduled on the law and there will be no subsequent vote during this month’s council voting session.

Under the state law approved earlier this year, municipalities across New York have until December 31 of this year to “opt out”. If they don’t opt out by that deadline, they will no longer have the opportunity to do so once the New Year begins. However, municipalities that do decide to opt out can still reverse the decision at any point moving forward.

Municipalities that choose to “opt in” could potentially see a bump in sales tax revenues once dispensaries are allowed to open given that they would receive 4% of the 13% tax collected by New York State on cannabis products.