A small social revolution moved forward in Ellenville on Saturday. That was the well-attended ribbon cutting for Canna Planet, aka Ellenville Cannabis, Ellenville’s first store selling legal products containing THC.

Marijuana was poorly understood by older generations, who feared a social breakdown due to a substance that was described in books and films as a “burning weed with its roots in hell.” In the 21st century, a cooler, calmer view pervades, and in 2021, New York opened the market up for dispensaries looking to sell THC products.

Cannabis retail was put into effect with a sizable piece of regulation called the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act and the creation of a new state department, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). Ulster County, with its farms, counterculture history, and empty storefronts and factory space, was set to become a key player in the field. Then-state senator Jen Metzger was even appointed to the State Cannabis Control Board, signaling a big role for the region in what promised to be a booming industry.

The Ellenville/Wawarsing area, specifically, was expected to flourish as a result. In 2022, Chicago-based marijuana wholesaler Cresco broke ground on the former Channel Master and Schrade factory that had once employed a number of people in the community, but had been shuttered for almost twenty years. The Cresco project was to be a 50,000 square foot manufacturing facility for marijuana.

“We are well positioned,” Wawarsing town board member Joe Stoeckeler recalled, “with Route 209 going right through the town. We were a manufacturing community for decades, and we still have a chance of becoming one again. And we would absolutely welcome Cresco in. There could also be a synergy effect that would bring other businesses in, as well, if they were here.”

But that project, and many others, was waylaid. It was expected that the federal government would reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance, alongside codeine and ketamine. This would have cut some red tape and loosened banking limitations on what still remains, legally, a restricted substance. This hasn’t happened yet.

In addition, a well-meaning plan to emphasize retail licensing for those impacted by Drug War-era policing turned out to be more that the OCM could manage, and led to massive delays in processing and approving applications. Confusion reigned. Different government bodies grew unclear on where their authority began and ended. Loans grew hard to find.

Cultivators and farmers found nowhere to legally sell. Thousands of unlicensed, untaxed retailers took advantage of their new latitude to sell marijuana while those seeking a proper license were caught in slow-moving, overwhelming red tape. And, most significantly, the state got hammered with lawsuits after they elected to prioritize licenses for those convicted of marijuana charges.

“I grew up here when we still had the Schrade and Hydro plants operating,” Stoeckeler said. “Lots of good jobs, walkable jobs. Those closed and we never recovered. So, to have something like Cresco come in and start a factory like that would be wonderful. But it seems to me that the state is holding our community hostage to something that I don’t really understand.”

Part of that delay came from a $20 million retail licensing fee levied by OCM against “registered organizations” in the cannabis world. This was part of a move to promote small and local businesses, which translates into blocking proposals from companies from outside New York.

“And it’s not just our community,” he continued. “They have hurt a lot of mid-sized businesses with the way they have delayed the roll out of the licenses. If they let Cresco operate like other legal businesses, they could even just start the [initial, smaller proposal that the company expected to expand upon] using the VAW building. That would mean 75-80 good jobs, with pay starting in the mid-twenties. And 80% on-site training and everything to go with that.”

Another defunct Wawarsing landmark, the former Kelly Farm where the HITS horse show had been held, is eyed by local entrepreneurs for a cannabis farm project called Hudson Valley Herbals that would apply the principles of high-end vineyards to the new industry. This project is now starting to gain momentum.

Politically, however, Stoeckeler feels “we don’t have a champion at this point. There’s no rhyme or reason for this demand by the OCM for $20 million from Cresco to get started. Lots of people wasted their money and resources these last two years. New York State had plenty of time to figure it out and look at what other states had done. I don’t understand the reluctance there. You make it legal but unobtainable?”

In 2024, the state began to put an emphasis on cleaning up the OCM, and, one-by-one, dispensaries and related businesses started to open in Ulster and elsewhere in the state. For Wawarsing, the first step on that path is Canna Planet.

Canna Planet appeared on the Village of Ellenville’s radar last fall. It was approved by the village board in November, despite a one-man fight by village planning board member Carlos Villegas, who expressed concerns about safety, security, smell, and a general atmosphere of vice around the establishment.

Stoeckeler heaped praise on the Patel family, who own the business. “They are special to our community and have been solid business people in our community for some time,” he said. “They continue to invest in our area and I believe they deserve more credit than they are getting.”

Canna Planet has been open since February, operating within the state’s rigorous regulations requiring a security guard, ID checks, and darkened windows.

“I tell everyone that in New York, only casinos are more regulated than cannabis,” said Stoeckeler. “Look at the purchasing process. You go in and are met by a greeter who checks your ID. You are on video that is shared with the state.”

Over the weekend, the Ellenville/Wawarsing Chamber of Commerce and some officials gathered with store staff to officially welcome the dispensary to town. A ribbon was pulled across the storefront at Ellenville Town Plaza, the strip mall housing Taco Bell and the wine and liquor store. It was all smiles as the store manager cut the ribbon.

Still, the effect of the long prohibition and mindset created by that propaganda was very visible. Canna Planet, by law, has a darkened front window with no product visible. Next door, alcohol glimmered in the sun shining through the liquor store’s windows.