Deer Park hosting cannabis dispensary exhibit

A drug-free cannabis dispensary exhibit in Deer Park may persuade more communities to embrace the real deal, say businesses licensed to sell marijuana.

The Official Dispensary Showroom Tour, a “museum-style” display mimicking how a recreational marijuana shop meets laws and regulations, will hold a free two-day event on July 14 and 15.

The Bronx Community Foundation, a nonprofit that developed the dispensary showroom, will host panels on why older Long Islanders and veterans use cannabis and the economic benefits of recreational dispensaries and pot lounges. Just four towns on the Island have chosen to allow these businesses within their boundaries, though the nine other towns may reverse course at any point.

Hugosbely Rivas Jr., who has a license to open a dispensary on the Island, hopes the showroom will persuade more communities to permit retail and consumption businesses.  

“It’s gone very well in other locations,” said Rivas, who helped launch the Long Island Cannabis Coalition trade group. “People should expect to see how a dispensary is run in a very professional, responsible way.”

The Bronx Community Foundation created the exhibit because many would-be entrepreneurs in the borough didn’t know how to go about setting up a dispensary, according to foundation co-founder Desmon Lewis. He said the borough experienced some of the most severe consequences of anti-marijuana laws being disproportionately enforced against Black and Latino New Yorkers, and wanted to ensure Bronxites didn’t get left behind in a new industry.

At the showroom, visitors start at a reception desk, where a “greeter” checks their IDs to ensure they’re at least 21, Lewis said. They then walk toward display cases and shelves with empty product packages. Visitors will see how ordering and paying for items works. The exhibit also gives aspiring dispensary owners a sense of what’s “behind the counter” at licensed stores, with features on human resources and payroll systems and security cameras capturing every inch of the establishment, Lewis said.

“People were very surprised at how compliance-heavy it is,” Lewis said. “It’s like running a pharmacy, making sure that everything is tagged and bagged.”

About 3,000 people stopped by the inaugural three-day showcase in the Bronx, so the nonprofit decided to bring the exhibit to other communities around the state, Lewis said. The standard programming has been revised to focus on the public benefits of the legal industry since so many Long Island communities have opted out of having retail businesses.

The first day is geared more toward the public, with panels planned on the security and safety standards, holistic health and the economic impact of legalization. Presentations on hiring and job opportunities in the industry and on cannabis parts and compounds are scheduled for the second day.

The free event will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 94 East Industry Court in Deer Park, where the dispensary licensee, Budding Industry Group, hopes to open its shop, the Long Island Cannabis Club. Long Islanders who would like to attend may reserve tickets at https://rb.gy/k2mht. 

By Sarina Trangle

sarina.trangle@newsday.comSarinaTrangle

Sarina Trangle covers affordability and cost of living issues and other business topics. She previously worked as an editor and reporter at amNewYork.