Soon, you’ll be able to pick up some pot, and a ceramic pot by a local potter, all in one little blue house.
Cortland County’s first dispensary has arrived, and the owners hope to educate both users and non-users. Classy Canna opened at 8 N. Main St. in Homer on New Year’s Day, and will soon open the other half of its space as an artisan goods shop: the Book Nook.
Owners Stephanie Koslowski and Hailey Ruoff have finally opened their dispensary after what Ruoff calls “three years of hurdles.” Laws were switched, applying was difficult and delayed, and approval took more than a year.
“We are women-owned, very small, and very focussed on local, local, local,” Ruoff said. “The majority of products we’ll have are from Cortland County, or one of the counties that touches Cortland County.”
New York legalized the sale of adult-use cannabis on March 31, 2021, making it legal for people 21 or older to purchase small amounts of the product for medical or recreational use.
The state Office of Cannabis Management has broken the state down into geographic regions. The Central New York region, into which Cortland falls, is set to get 14 conditional adult-use dispensaries.
However, Classy Canna isn’t the first dispensary in the greater Cortland area. Dryden Dispensary and Smoke Shop opened in May at 2207 Dryden Road. But that’s in Tompkins County, which lies in the Southern Tier region. In total, New York has 282 adult-use dispensaries, up from 117 six months ago.
Cannabis sales come with a 9% state sales tax. Cortland County and its municipalities would share a 4% tax, three quarters of which would go to Homer and the rest to the county.
Additionally, the dispensary would annually donate either $5,000 or 1% of its revenue – whichever is greater – to the village recreation department. This is a part of the business’s license application, which requires a Community Benefits Plan.
Classy Canna carries products from Florist Farm in Cortland, Empire Cannabis in Batavia, Rippin Ridge Farm in Cazenovia and Ayrloom by Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards.
The Book Nook, which will open next door, will sell books discussing marijuana, and locally made artisan goods, including ceramics, jewelry and cards. You won’t have to be 21 to enter.
Ruoff understands some people may not be excited about a dispensary coming to Homer, but that is just an opportunity for education.
“Anyone that is a naysayer at first, come down and talk to us,” she said. “Stephanie and I believe in education, and honestly, we welcome people to come down and ask questions.”
Koslowksi isn’t on a soap box, trying to convert everyone to cannabis users, she said. She is making it available locally to the people who are already using it.
“We’re trying to steer away from being a smoke shop,” Koslowski said. “We’re geared more towards the effects; the education and purposeful use. … The education part of it is what makes it classier, because an educated consumer is going to use it more wisely.”
The “budtenders” get to sample the products, and document their experience in their weed diaries. That way, customers have an experienced opinion on a product.
Budtender Matt McDannell said cannabis has helped him mitigate his anxiety and ADHD. For Frank Dalton, who works security, it helps him with pain caused by arthritis.
“I don’t want to be swallowing ibuprofen and Tylenol and stuff like that in these older years,” Dalton said. “I’ve found this works.”
“We smoked pot when we were younger just because that’s what kids did,” Koslowski said. “But we didn’t know anything about it; we didn’t know what we were getting. We also didn’t know how to use it – how to use it for sleep or creativity, we just got what was available.”
“We’re not your typical head shop,” Ruoff said. “I worked at the college for 25 years. I have a master’s degree. Stephanie is a certified and licensed acupuncturist. We’re both very educated people, and have found that cannabis helps us, and we want to help others.”
“We’re looking to take care of the people who are getting it anyway,” Koslowksi said. “They just either don’t know what they’re getting, where they’re getting it from, or they’re driving 20 miles to go get it. We just want to take care of our local people.”
