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Town of Catskill voters to decide on cannabis lounges
Voters statewide need to flip their ballots over and decide on an environmental bond act this year, and in the Town of Catskill there is also a permissive referendum on the back of the ballot. Voters can overturn the town board's decision last year not to allow cannabis consumption establishments in the Town of Catskill. The Town of Catskill Board voted 3-1 to opt-out of cannabis lounges on Dec. 29 last year. The question on the ballot for all voters there this year is worded so a "Yes" vote is against cannabis consumption sites, and a "No" vote is in favor of allowing the equivalent of bars for marijuana use. "Should Town of Catskill Local Law 3 of 2021 prohibiting on-site cannabis consumption establishments in the Town of Catskill be approved?" is what the ballot reads, with voting beginning Oct. 29 and ending Nov. 8. The village of Catskill board earlier approved both cannabis sales and lounges, which will not change with the results of this vote. "We just want the other parts of the town of Catskill to have the ability to benefit from the revenue, to be able to benefit from having another option for tourism," said Sara Pickens Verdon, one of the folks who gathered enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot.