Sweden Town Clerk Karen Sweeting rejected a petition filed on December 21, 2021, that would have called for a referendum on Sweden Town Law 6 of 2021 adding Chapter 152 to the Sweden Town Code. Chapter 152 opted out of Adult Use Cannabis Retail Dispensaries and On-site Consumption Sites in the Town of Sweden, outside the Village of Brockport.
A total of 423 signatures were required in order for Sweeting to certify the petition as sufficient (10% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, November 6, 2018). Three hundred signatures were submitted, leaving the petition 123 signatures (29.1%) short. In addition, Sweeting removed 12 signatures that she did not find on the Monroe County Board of Elections Voter Registration list dated November 2, 2021.
New York State gave local municipalities until December 31, 2021, to opt out of the new cannabis law or be permanently opted-in. Many local towns and villages have opted out, at least until New York State provides guidance on the duties and obligations local governments will assume by opting in. At the time of this press release, 18 municipalities in Monroe County had reported opting out of retail dispensaries and 18 had reported opting out of on-site consumption sites.
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