Nassau County Off-Duty Cops Not Allowed To Light Up: NCPD

NEW YORK — As the NYPD flip-flops on whether it will allow off-duty officers the opportunity to smoke weed, according to the Daily News, the Nassau County Police Department has taken a firm stance for its own officers.

“The Nassau County Police Department prohibits its members; whether on- or off-duty, from indulging in the consumption of cannabis/marihuana or cannabis derived products,” the police department told Patch.

The Suffolk County Police Department has not responded to requests for comment on the subject.

The news comes on the heels of the state Office of Cannabis Management approving regulations and applications for New York’s first cannabis dispensaries on July 14.

Twenty adult-use cultivators were also permitted to grow cannabis, bringing the state’s total of licensed weed farmers to 223, according to OCM.

Earlier this month, the OCM visited farmers in Erie, Schoharie and Ulster counties.

“New York is developing the most equitable and accessible cannabis industry in the nation, and it begins with our farmers who are growing the first crops,” Cannabis Control Board Chair Tremaine Wright said in a statement. “Earlier this year, through our Seeding Opportunity Initiative, we were able to license our farmers enabling them to start planting for this year’s grow season, and I couldn’t be more impressed with the work New York farmers have done in such a short period of time. The plants look good, smell good and our family farmers are clearly growing a high-quality product for New Yorkers.”

The Seeding Opportunity Initiative gives the first dispensary licenses to people with past marijuana convictions and a background owning and running a small business, according to OCM.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to grow cannabis for the New York market,” Amy Hepworth, owner of Hepworth Farm in Ulster County, said in a statement. “Us CBD growers were financially devastated when the market fell out and having the opportunity to be first in growing adult-use cannabis in New York will help us recover.”

Hepworth believes OCM’s support is an environmental win for the planet.

“Sun-grown cannabis, from family farmers who feed our state, will enable the land-based community an opportunity for economic vitalization. We are the essential workers who bring food to your table and now can now bring cannabis legally into your homes. It’s a dream come true,” added Hepworth.

On Tuesday and Wednesday evening, OCM will host “Get Ready, Get Set,” in-person workshops and digital tool-kit programs to help equity-entrepreneurs apply for their first retail cannabis licenses, according to the office.

In Harlem, people can pre-register for the digital program and workshop, which is this Tuesday at 6 p.m. (doors open 5:45 p.m.) at the Albany Powell State Office Building, located at 163 West 125 St.

In St. Albans, people can pre-register for the July 27 program, which will be held at Black Spectrum Theatre at 177-01 Baisley Blvd. at 6:30 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.). Proof of vaccination will be required.

“Connecting with New Yorkers and delivering the information they need to seize the opportunities this industry will generate is key to the national model we’re developing for a truly inclusive and equitable adult-use cannabis program,” OCM Executive Director Chris Alexander said in a statement. “By expanding ‘Get Ready, Get Set’ to include this important information, [it] will help New Yorkers get the information they need without having to turn to costly third parties.”