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Last week, the Cannabis Control Board issued two advisory opinions that should serve as a cautionary tale for local governments across New York state. The Oct. 6 opinions determined that zoning restrictions imposed on cannabis shops by the Long Island towns of Riverhead and Southampton violated New York’s Cannabis Law. It’s a turning point in New York’s cannabis regulatory landscape, with major implications for how local governments must interpret and enforce state law.

Some local governments that did not “opt out” of hosting legal cannabis businesses back in 2023 thought they could benefit from local tax revenue on cannabis sales while using local zoning powers to control where,........

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