Chaya Pilla, a local mom from Nyack, has spoken out about not allowing cannabis dispensaries in the village’s downtown because children are there frequently.

She started this petition, asking village officials to address zoning regulations for those types of businesses, and so far, a number of people and businesses have signed.

There is a dispensary in Nyack, but it’s about a mile from the downtown area.

“This is about responsible placement, not prohibition. We are not trying to get rid of cannabis in Nyack. We just do not want cannabis dispensaries in our downtown,” said Pilla. “Where kids are all the time.”

The petition is expected to be brought up during the village of Nyack’s board meeting on Thursday March 27, at 7:30 p.m.

“I just don’t see why we would want to treat cannabis any differently than from liquor,” said Mayor Joe Rand. “In Nyack, we should be in the business of having stores downtown that sell popular, legal products to people that want to buy them.”

The village opted in to allowing dispensaries in 2021.

The village is expected have a public hearing next month about regulations on recreational cannabis dispensaries.