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Mayors of the Long Island beach towns near the Queens border will be utilizing a clause in the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act that allows local municipalities to opt-out of allowing marijuana in their locales, according to the New York Post.
Calling it a “gateway drug,” Village of Island Park Mayor Michael McGinty told the Post that he “feels strongly about this. It’s a moral imperative to opt-out. I’m not going to permit marijuana here. It’s that simple.”
Under the law, New Yorkers will be permitted to carry up to three ounces of marijuana, which will have a 13 percent sales tax. Those tax revenues will then be broken up, with nine percent going to the state, and four percent to local municipalities.
Others planning to opt-out include Village of Atlantic Beach Mayor George Pappas, Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy, and Rockville Centre Mayor Francis Murray.
“We have young children who are easily influenced. I’m not interested in the tax revenue. I’m interested in the well-being of our children,” Pappas reportedly said. “Marijuana is a gateway drug. I don’t want the smell of marijuana on the beach when young people are surfing or playing volleyball.”
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