Tioga County weighs in on the prospect of legalized marijuana

As the state continues to discuss when and how legalized marijuana will come to New York, local institutions are preparing for a change many see as inevitable. 

“I think that we are of the attitude that it is coming, but what we are waiting for is for the state of New York to make up its mind about how it will look,” said Martha Sauerbrey, chair of the Tioga County Legislature.

Saying that the state process has gone largely quiet, Sauerbrey said she doesn’t know what freedom individual counties will have when it comes to regulating the drug. 

“So in other words let’s say the law says marijuana is legal and you can smoke and ingest it in the state of New York, will the state allow counties or towns to have the option to say you can’t sell it here? There is also taxing issues, what percentage goes where and how it works. There are a lot of unanswered questions that we need the information about to make decisions,” said Sauerbrey. 

If there were an option for counties to opt in or out of allowing the sale of recreational marijuana, Saubrey said that would be something the county would strongly consider. 

“We would definitely consider whether to opt in or opt out, it all depends on what the state does. So we’re just waiting and it’s been quiet. I just don’t know what it will look like so we stopped talking about it until we get the information we need,” Sauerbrey added. 

Christine Horton, owner of Owego Hemp said that while she might not sell recreational marijuana once it becomes legal, she does believe it will have a positive local impact. 

“I am for it, I think it would be an economic boom and I think that the state would regulate it and the tax base would be helpful,” Horton said. 

Horton added that concerns over the negative impact of selling recreational marijuana is overstated. 

“I think so long as policy and regulation is diligent that there really won’t be that much negative to it,” Horton said. 

While Tioga County Sheriff Gary Howard said he had no comment on the potential legalization of marijuana, Sauerbrey said that local police departments do have concerns. 

“Driving under the influence, it will be interesting to see how that plays out, will that have the same bearing as driving under the influence of alcohol and how do you test it? It’s very complicated,” Sauerbrey said. 

Along with potentially selling it, Horton said that there could also be a benefit for local farmers looking for a new crop to cultivate when recreational marijuana becomes legal. 

“Marijuana could be grown in Tioga. We are already seeing a huge boom in the growth of hemp, and if farmers can grow legalized marijuana that would definitely be a benefit not just for farmers struggling for a profitable crop but all the people who benefit from the processing and then the end users,” Horton said. 

Sauerbrey agreed that hemp and CBD products have had a positive impact on the local economy already. 

“We’re seeing a lot of hemp business pop up and it is important to note that the products they sell are different than marijuana, they are not designed to get you high,” Sauerbrey said. 

However, she noted that growing marijuana is far more complicated than just planting a seed and letting it grow. 

“I think the Farm Bureau and Cornell Cooperative Extension would want to weigh in, and farmers are pretty conservative but we’ll see. I’ve been trying to read up on this, really growing marijuana is a lot more complicated than throwing some seeds in the ground. In California they do a lot of growing in controlled small spaces so they know what they plant will have the intended impact. It’s quite technical so we’ll see how that works out as well,” Sauerbrey added.