By the Editorial Team | The Watertown Post
Watertown, New York, has always prided itself on being practical. Whether it’s weathering hard winters, adapting to changes in the economy, or balancing the needs of Fort Drum and civilian life, our community knows how to adjust with the times. But when it comes to cannabis—legal, taxed, and state-regulated cannabis—we’re dragging our feet in a way that borders on self-sabotage.
Let’s call it what it is: right now, Watertown is crawling with unregulated, untaxed, and unaccountable marijuana shops. Walk into some of them, and it’s like stepping into a scene from a bad episode of Cops: no receipts, no IDs checked, no oversight. These are not licensed dispensaries. They’re gray-market or black-market operators cashing in on a lack of city initiative—and it’s happening in broad daylight.
Meanwhile, just outside the city limits, legal cannabis shops are opening in places like Carthage, Antwerp, and even some small villages where local leaders saw the writing on the wall and moved forward. Those communities are now raking in tax revenue, creating new jobs, and attracting out-of-town customers. In a time when every dollar counts, Watertown is watching potential revenue go up in smoke.
This isn’t about being pro-weed or anti-weed. It’s about being pro-common-sense.
The cannabis industry is no longer a novelty. It’s not a 1960s flashpoint or a college campus protest. It’s a multi-billion-dollar legal economy that’s not going anywhere. It’s regulated by New York State. It provides verified jobs. It requires background checks. It’s held to health and safety standards. And—this should matter to everyone—it’s taxed.
City leaders may feel torn, caught between cultural hesitation and political calculation. One side clings to the old “slippery slope” fear-mongering, while the other seems too eager to over-regulate legal shops right out of existence while ignoring the illegal ones thriving downtown.
That’s not leadership. That’s paralysis.
There is no rational reason to allow non-legal weed stores to flourish in Watertown while simultaneously slamming the door on legitimate, tax-paying cannabis businesses. That’s like banning licensed restaurants and then wondering why food trucks are parked on every corner selling mystery meat from the trunk of a car.
Times are changing. New York legalized cannabis. The market is here. And it’s time Watertown caught up.
Let’s stop pretending this is still up for debate and start making practical, lawful decisions that serve our citizens—not just our fears. Let’s bring legal cannabis to Watertown. Regulated. Taxed. Safe. Transparent.
Because if we don’t, we’re not taking a moral stand. We’re just giving the business away.
