Westchester grade school teacher battles through obstacles for more than a year to open cannabis dispensary
There are multiple reasons for the delay. They range from one crucial mistake by state regulators to the city' strict building codes that forced the family-owned enterprise to spend nearly six months renovating their new location.
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A Westchester grade-school teacher who was in line to open the Hudson Valley's first cannabis dispensary has finally opened up shop in White Plains, nearly a year and a half later than planned.
Owners of the Purple Owl Cannabis Dispensary on Mamaroneck Avenue, once in line to open shop as soon as the fall of 2023, have just now opened.
There are multiple reasons for the delay.
They range from one crucial mistake by state regulators to the city' strict building codes that forced the family-owned enterprise to spend nearly six months renovating their new location.
Since mid-2023, reading teacher Beth Smith, her son and another partner had been on the cusp of opening multiple times, only for the rolling paper to be yanked out from under them.
"That was disheartening. It cost us some money," Smith said Tuesday during News 12's visit to the shop. "but we found a way to pivot."
The Purple Owl benefitted from the state's social justice licensing program that gave the first 400-plus licenses to applicants who have been convicted of cannabis-related offenses.
Smith's son and friend have both been convicted of cannabis offenses, which qualified them for an early license under the policy, first known as Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary licensing program (CAURD).
In August 2023, Smith and a handful of other Hudson Valley CAURD licensees were weeks away from opening shop when lawsuits challenging the social justice licensing program led to an injunction which froze the application process for five months.
Smith told News 12 that in January 2024, she and her partners were about to open the dispensary at a location approved by the New York State Office of Cannabis Management when the OCM suddenly backtracked because the building was too close to a church.
OCM policy states that dispensaries cannot be located within 200 feet of a house of worship, nor within 500 feet of a school.
"OCM did give approval," Smith recounted. "Then they removed the approval."
The team then found a new location that was quickly approved by the OCM, but opening was delayed another six months because they had to do numerous repairs to get into compliance with strict White Plains city building code.
The Purple Owl was supposed to be the first legal, state-recognized dispensary to open in the Hudson Valley.
After the delays, it is the state's 124 dispensary and White Plains' fourth.
When asked about the hiccups, Smith had no complaints and blamed no one.
"It really turned out to be better for us in the end," Smith said, "and really, truly, the OCM did what they could to help us."
She said it ended up better, because they have a good location on the edge of the city with free parking and they were able to take the time to individualize the shop.
Inside, large monitors show custom-produced scenic video from around the area and authentic barn wood trim are homages to the Hudson Valley.
Previously a gas station and then a dry cleaner, the newly renovated shop's name is displayed on an old gas pump canopy that has been fashioned into a marquee of sorts.
"It's a really cool place. It looks like a warm place," Antonio, a tourist from Italy, said of the shop. "This is my first time in a dispensary in New York. I've been in dispensaries in LA, the ones all with the same brand and they pretty much look the same. But this one is really cool."
The challenges The Purple Owl overcame are about to be repeated by the next cohort of CAURD licensees.
New York State Supreme Court Judge Sharon Graff ordered the OCM to again stop processing dispensary applications under its social justice program until legal challenges to the program are resolved.
