When he was an emergency room physician, Dr. Surinder Sandhu had doubts about marijuana’s supposed medicinal value.

But his feelings changed several years ago when, he said, his mother’s health improved after she took doses of prescription pot.

On Monday — after two years of seeking Brookhaven Town zoning approvals and a New York State retail cannabis license — Sandhu, 59, is opening Strong Strains, his first pot dispensary, in the Stony Brook Technology Center industrial park in East Setauket. Brookhaven officials confirmed it is the town’s first licensed recreational marijuana shop.

Town law restricts pot shops to areas like technology parks zoned for industrial uses.

The 4,300-square-foot store employs 15 people and will be open seven days a week, Sandhu said.

“We are very lucky to be the first one to open up in the town of Brookhaven,” Sandhu, now retired from practicing medicine, said during an interview Thursday at the store. He said he had “a lot of sleepless nights” while seeking town and state approvals.

Brookhaven generally requires pot shops to be at least 1,000 feet from schools, playgrounds and houses of worship. The town cut the minimum distance to 500 feet to allow Strong Strains to open, town spokesman Drew Scott said.

Sandhu said he needed the variance because of a nearby dance studio. 

“[We] finally found this place, and even then it did not qualify, so we had to wait … ,” Sandhu said. “When we finally got to the finish line, it was such a joy.”

Seven other stores on LI

Strong Strains — which will sell a mix of products including CBD gummies, drinks and vape cartridges — joins seven other legal cannabis stores in Deer Park, East Farmingdale, Calverton, Riverhead, and Southampton, said Hugo Rivas of the Long Island Cannabis Coalition trade group. In Nassau and Suffolk counties, only the towns of Babylon, Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton allow pot dispensaries.

Municipalities that host dispensaries are entitled to 4% of sales tax revenue, under a 2021 state law that legalized recreational cannabis sales. Of that local tax, the town takes 3%, while the county collects 1%, Newsday has previously reported.

Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico has said the town has not decided how to use its share of the revenue.

A Medford shop received state approval last year but is awaiting final town approvals, Scott said in an email, adding two other locations, one in Farmingville and another in Medford, are awaiting Board of Zoning Appeals approvals.

Charles Tramontana, president of the Three Village Civic Association, which includes East Setauket, said he is “cautiously optimistic” about Strong Strains.

“It’s in a commercial industrial park, so at least it’s out of the way,” Tramontana said in a telephone interview. “Hopefully, they’ll be a good neighbor and adhere to all regulations.”

In distance, an opportunity

Sandhu and his real estate representative, Devang Patel of Douglas Elliman, said the shop’s location more than 20 miles from the next nearest pot stores may prove advantageous. Sandhu said he hopes employees of neighboring businesses will become customers.

A guard will be stationed at the front door to check identification, he said. Customers must be at least 21 under state law.

“I would like the community to come stop by and take a look,” he said. “I want people to feel safe.”  

Sandhu said his opinion about marijuana changed a few years ago when his mother, who has rheumatoid arthritis, received a prescription for medical marijuana to alleviate pain caused by the autoimmune disease.

His mother, now 93, is doing well, he said, adding he has come to believe weed is an effective treatment for low levels of maladies such as sleeping disorders and anxiety.

“It’s not just to get high,” he said.

Newsday’s Drew Singh contributed to this story.

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.