Cannabis shop looks to renew license

Purple Plains in Pound Ridge is applying to the state Cannabis Control Board (CCB) for licensing renewal.

Located at 32 Westchester Ave. in Scotts Corners, the adult-use retail marijuana dispensary opened in 2024. It's co-owned by Sophia Mortell and Mark Buzzetto Jr. of SMMB Inc.

A public hearing was held on Tuesday, Feb. 17, to gather input on the subject.

The Town Board has no direct control over the licensing renewal process. Neither is it legally required by the state to make – or pass along the public’s – comments to the CCB, noted Deputy Supervisor Diane Briggs.  Supervisor Kevin Hansan was not present at the meeting.

The town had asked for an extension of the 30-day comment period. It has until March 20 to submit one if it decides to weigh in.

The public can send written comments directly to the state by emailing info@cannabis.ny.gov.

One of the speakers, John Nathan, a lawyer, raised questions about whether SMMB Inc. had crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s when it first applied for a license.

Nathan told the board that he’d been trying without success for two years to get a peek at the application papers.

John McCown agreed that the “rule of law matters.”

“I think this board would have a strong view if they found out that someone built a house without getting a building permit," he said. "I don’t think there’d be any debate that, you know, is that right or wrong?”

Alex Goldfarb claimed that legal weed can be much more potent than the street stuff.

“As more and more states legalize (cannabis) and this product becomes more and more available, it’s something that towns like ours will have to consider, especially if it does result in traffic incidents and other things that involve people’s lives,” he advised the board.

Nicholas Cianciola Sr. wondered why a hearing was being held now “even though state law doesn’t appear to require one.”

He said the town really should have held a hearing before it decided not to opt out of allowing legal cannabis dispensaries, “when it would have been the best interest of the constituents who elected this board to seek and represent the voice of the people.”

In Cianciola’s mind, the most “plausible explanation” was that the board wants to publicly “signal” its approval of the license renewal

Councilman Dan Paschkes disagreed strongly with that assessment.

The purpose of that night’s hearing was “specifically to try to do better at what we could have done better – and probably should have done better – the first time around, which is to seek public input,” he said, pointing out that the opportunity’s there to speak up, whether the town decides to formally weigh in or not on SMMB’s re-licensing application.

“This is our effort to reach out to the community,” Paschkes explained.

The law's the law

SMMB Inc. is currently engaged in the normal renewal process, which is basically just “paperwork,” Buzzetto told Halston Media.

He said that it was obvious that the CCB would never have approved the license in the first place if SMMB Inc. hadn’t met all the legal requirements.

Purple Plains was among the first cannabis dispensaries to get a state license through a program that gave priority to applicants who’d been negatively impacted by having had a prior conviction for a marijuana offense, who had run a successful business in the past, and who could prove they owned at least 51 percent of the proposed legal cannabis business.

Nathan claimed that his efforts to get documentation about who owns what percentage of the business have been stonewalled.

Buzzetto countered that Nathan has never set foot inside Purple Plains or tried to have a face-to-face conversation with him.

“Treat me like a person; talk to me,” the young entrepreneur suggested.

As for Goldfarb’s concerns about the potency of legal weed, Buzzetto points out that legal cannabis products undergo rigorous testing and certification and that alcohol has significantly higher mortality risks and greater addiction potential. Cannabis also has, he said, no known fatal overdose level.

Meanwhile, Nathan sent to letter, dated Feb. 27, the CCB, asking it to investigate and, if necessary, revoke SMMB Inc.’s license if the requirements haven’t been met.

He has claimed repeatedly that he has no beef with weed or with legal cannabis establishments themselves.

“The essence of my position is not that they (SMMB Inc.) did anything wrong, but there’s no proof that they followed the rules,” Nathan told Halston Media.

“I gave them every opportunity to produce the evidence and they didn’t. At this point, I told them I have no choice but to go forward. I’m doing this because I’m a strong believer in the rule of law,” he said.

According to Town Attorney William Harrington, the town isn’t “actively seeking that proof because it’s no longer relevant to the operating of the store.”

Nathan had sued the town, alleging that the board had violated the state’s Open Meetings Law by, he claimed, secretly discussing its intention not to opt out of allowing cannabis dispensaries.

SMMB Inc. was an intervenor in the case.

The lawsuit was tossed after a Westchester County Supreme Court judge found it had been filed after the statute of limitations had run out. Nathan appealed the ruling last July.

Joint effort

Purple Plains, located in a former wine shop, offers everything cannabis, from flower, vapes, and tinctures to balms, edibles, and beverages.

It was featured in glossy Bedford & New Canaan magazine last November.

In the article, Buzzetto talked about having worried that the chances of scoring a license were slim considering the thousands of folks who were also in line for one.

However, he said, SMMB’s “hopes were buoyed” after learning that applicants with prior marijuana convictions and who also had owned successful businesses would be among the first 150 to get them.

Previously, Buzzetto had co-owned a thriving florist shop with his dad in his hometown of Mount Kisco. Mortell grew up in nearby Chappaqua.

He told B&NC that he’d been nabbed with a “few joints” in the parking lot of Shea Stadium when he was 18.

That arrest turned out to be a blessing in disguise, Buzzetto said.

Purple Plains now claims approximately 1,500 walk-in customers a week.

According to the article, it prides itself on the way it contributes to the local economy through the taxes it pays and by helping draw other shoppers to the hamlet. It also tries to be a “good neighbor” by supporting local organizations such as a men’s softball league and charities.

Nathan wasn't impressed or deterred.

If SMMB Inc. “did the right thing” – and Buzzetto does own 51 percent of the business, etc. – then “that’s the end of it" as far as his questioning of its license goes, he promised.

No one from Purple Plains spoke at the public hearing. Buzzetto later told Halston Media that he and Mortell have put a lot of “blood, sweat, and tears” into making Purple Plains a success and a credit to the community.

The couple is simply trying to build a future together, he said, adding: “It really saddens and upsets me to think someone seems to have made it their life mission to shut down a dream I’ve had."

 Right now, he and Mortell are focusing on the licensing renewal process.

“As long as we’re abiding by all the rules, there’s no reason to think we won’t get it,” Buzzetto said.