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Brookhaven Town’s first approved cannabis dispensary is preparing to open its doors in Medford, with a target launch date in early 2025, according to reports.
Beleaf Medford will mark a significant expansion of Long Island’s legal cannabis retail landscape, joining existing dispensaries in the towns of Babylon, Riverhead and Southampton.
Currently, legal marijuana sales on Long Island are limited to these town-approved locations and on two American Indian reservations — Shinnecock Nation in Southampton and the Poospatuck in Mastic.
The Medford location on Middle Island Road received its adult-use cannabis license from the state Cannabis Control Board on Oct. 10, as part of a broader approval of 141 shops statewide. Co-owners Joseph Martin and Michael Reda told Newsday they are in the process of securing a town building permit and anticipate opening in January or February.
“It’s been very difficult, and at the end of the day, it’s a roll of the dice,” Reda told Newsday. “But we felt from our digging, our research, our due diligence that this was a good location.”
This won’t be the first venture for the ownership team. Beleaf already operates a store in Brooklyn and is set to open another location in Riverhead later this year, according to its website.
The company last week held a grand opening party for its Brooklyn shop on Atlantic Avenue.
Hugo Rivas with the Long Island Cannabis Coalition, a trade group of pot shop owners, said the Medford shop will be a milestone for cannabis retail in Suffolk County’s largest town. Brookhaven is one of just four Long Island towns that opted into the state’s recreational marijuana program, along with Babylon, Riverhead and Southampton, which have collectively approved six stores.
The financial implications for participating towns can be substantial. Newsday reported that Babylon has already collected over $1.8 million in special state sales tax revenue from its first two East Farmingdale cannabis shops, according to statements from officials.
The path to opening in Brookhaven required several regulatory adjustments. The town initially imposed strict zoning rules in 2021 that confined pot shops to industrial areas and required significant distance from homes, schools and other public facilities. Brookhaven’s town board recently voted 5-1 to amend the code, reducing some distance requirements.
Beleaf Medford received final approval through a three-year special permit and variance from the Brookhaven Zoning Board of Appeals in September.
Beleaf has not posted the hours of operation for its future Medford store; in Brooklyn, Beleaf is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Top photos: Instagram (inset) and Google Maps.
