The Monroe County communities that have adult-use cannabis dispensaries in them have received more than $1 million in tax revenue from the sale of legal weed.
Three municipalities in Monroe County currently have legal cannabis dispensaries: Rochester, Henrietta, and Brockport. Henrietta’s four operational dispensaries have netted the town the largest amount of cannabis revenue of the three, totaling $750,000 as of April. Meanwhile, the city of Rochester’s two years of legal dispensaries has netted $245,737 in cannabis tax revenue, according to city budget documents. The city projects $600,000 in revenue in the next fiscal year.
Brockport’s lone dispensary, Evergreen Retail, has generated $43,681 in tax revenue since opening in April. In total, the three municipalities have received just over $1 million since legal dispensaries became operational.
Brockport Mayor Margay Blackman said the revenue, and the $80,000 in tax proceeds the village projects it will receive in the next fiscal year with a second dispensary opening, can help salve some of the village’s finance issues.
“We had to exceed the tax cap again two years in a row,” Blackman said. “So, hopefully all that will help.”
Henrietta, meanwhile, has used its cannabis revenue to cover a full-time sheriff’s deputy focused on speeding and quality of life issues, and to buy equipment to fix potholes.
"As everyone knows, the state roads have been horrible, right?” said Henrietta Supervisor Stephen Schultz. “So, that's a great benefit that we're getting from the legal sale of cannabis that otherwise would have to be borne by our taxpayers, our residents.”
Following legalization, cities and towns across the state had the option to opt into or out of allowing cannabis businesses to open. Most opted in, while some, like Greece and Pittsford, opted out. All municipalities that opted out can later choose to opt in, but those that opted in cannot later choose to opt out.
Cannabis sales at legal dispensaries are taxed at 13%. Of that, 9% goes to the state, 3% goes to local municipalities, and 1% goes to the county. In total, the New York Department of Taxation and Finance reports local governments have received $37.8 million in cannabis tax revenues between the time the first dispensaries opened and this past April.
The million-dollar figure is a milestone in the local cannabis industry following a sluggish start. Recreational cannabis was legalized in New York in March 2021. The package of laws was among the most progressive legalization proposals in the country, with a particular eye towards prioritizing people who previously were convicted of cannabis-related charges to be the first to open dispensaries.
But lawsuits soon poured in over the language of the bill, and court injunctions stalled the rollout of legal dispensaries. That happened across New York, but the Finger Lakes region was particularly affected, with court orders making it the last region where legal dispensaries were cleared to open. MJ Dispensary, opened in December 2023 in Henrietta, becoming the first legal dispensary in the Finger Lakes.
In the interim between legalization and the official launch of legal dispensaries, black market shops proliferated across the state. While some were avenues for local growers to sell their wares absent legal means to do so, many sold products shipped in from other states, usually of questionable quality and with dubious branding.
With legal sales ramping up, state and local government have become firmer on enforcement against unlicensed shops. Last week, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office announced it had arrested three men—Ahmed Mamdoh and Mahdi Taouzinet of Greece, and Mohand Kowa of Rochester for criminal possession of cannabis in the first degree, a felony. The arrest came after law enforcement executed a search warrant earlier this month at Mad Flavors smoke shop on East Henrietta Road.
During that search, deputies seized 27 pounds of cannabis, two pounds of pre-rolled joints, 820 packages of edibles, 531 packages of cannabis concentrate, 650 THC vapes, and $44,041 in cash. Taouzinet was additionally charged with criminal possession of a weapon after a search of his home turned up an unregistered Glock 17 handgun.
The investigation was a collaboration between the sheriff’s office and the state Office of Cannabis Management’s enforcement division.
“All the illicit operators that are still out there that haven't gotten the message that we're not going to sit idly by while you operate without a license, they do so at their own peril,” said Daniel Haughney, director of enforcement and investigations for the Office of Cannabis Management.
