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Highlands Current Audio StoriesAuthor: Highlands Current
The Highlands Current is a nonprofit weekly newspaper and daily website that covers Beacon, Cold Spring, Garrison, Nelsonville and Philipstown, New York, in the Hudson Highlands. This podcast includes select stories read aloud. Language: en-us Genres: Arts, Daily News, News Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Cannabis Store Opens in Cold Spring
Episode 60
Monday, 4 May, 2026
State weighs second license for the village A cannabis dispensary opened in Cold Spring on Friday (May 1), nearly five years after village residents voted to allow retailers and as the state considers an application for a second shop at the Butterfield complex. Mogu opened in a small space at 137 Main St., where it sells cannabis flower grown at its farm in Warwick, pre-rolls, edibles such as gummies, disposable vapes and accessories such as grinders, lighters and rolling papers. Adults aged 21 and older can book five-minute appointments online or order pre-rolls and flowers for pickup. The products have names such as Bob Hope, Chubby Bunny, Jelly Donutz and Purple Runtz. The shop operates under a "microbusiness" license awarded by the state Office of Cannabis Management in November 2024 to Pleasant View Harvest LLC, based in Brewster. A microbusiness is allowed to operate a retail shop but can only sell cannabis that it grows and processes. According to its website, the dispensary is open from 2 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday to Friday, and from noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. "Hopefully, we get a good name and reputation with the folks in the village and people who live in the nearby area," said the store's manager, Greg, who declined to provide his last name because cannabis is still banned by the federal government, and he said people associated with marijuana businesses have reported having credit cards canceled. According to Cold Spring officials, the Office of Cannabis Management is also considering an application for a dispensary at 10 Julia Lane, adjacent to the U.S. Post Office. The village was notified in December of the application by NYC Sour Apple, doing business as Cannabis Realm of New York. New York legalized recreational marijuana in March 2021. Under state law, villages, towns and cities could "opt out" of allowing sales and/or on-site consumption. Cold Spring sent the issue to the ballot, and residents voted to allow retail but not on-site consumption. The Philipstown and Nelsonville boards voted to opt out of both, though they can opt in at any time with a second vote. The Beacon City Council took no action, allowing sales and on-site consumption. Today, three dispensaries operate in the city: LotusWorks Wellness, at 261 Main St., and Hudson Valley Jane, at 544 Main St., are microbusinesses, while The Station Beacon, at 463 Main St., can sell cannabis but not cultivate it. The Office of Cannabis Management also awarded a processor license in 2024 to Two Puffs and Pass LLC, a company registered at an address in Philipstown. Processors extract concentrated cannabis and its compounds and blend, infuse and manufacture them for resale. New York has 647 dispensaries selling recreational marijuana, which the state legalized in 2021. In April, the state announced that sales had exceeded $3.1 billion, including more than $400 million in 2026. Sales are taxed at 13 percent — 9 percent goes to New York State, and 4 percent is shared by the county and municipalities where the store is located. (The split on the latter is 75 percent to the city, village or town and 25 percent to the county.) Beacon estimates it will receive $15,000 this year from its three dispensaries, compared to $13,600 in 2025. Despite earning the state billions of dollars in revenues, more than two-thirds of the cannabis businesses surveyed by the Office of Cannabis Management in September 2025 were concerned or very concerned about taxes, out-of-state products infiltrating New York's market, the illegal sales of marijuana, the concentration of proximate businesses and state regulations. Less than half of businesses overall reported being profitable, with variations among retailers (58 percent), growers (46 percent) and microbusinesses (20 percent). Revenue among retailers open at least a year averaged $2.9 million, ranging from $1.2 million to $5.5 million. To boost profits, half the businesses surveyed said they were switching suppliers, cutt...
