Cannabis cultivation could soon be coming to Mount Vernon, but it is depending on whether Governor Kathy Hochul releases licenses for medical cannabis. National legalization of cannabis, studies show, could bring in billions of dollars to the United States economy. Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard said she wants to get in on it.
“We want to make sure that Mount Vernon, which has had challenges like many urban communities at the hands of the illegal drug trade, does not miss out on the economic opportunity that medical cannabis brings,” Patterson-Howard said.
“There are 38 medical cannabis dispensaries in the state of New York right now,” Patterson-Howard said. “Not one of them is an MWBE.” MWBE stands for 'Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises', which certifies businesses run by minorities and women and aims to promote equity for these groups.
Hudson Health Extracts, a cannabis cultivation and dispensary business, is both minority and woman-led. CEO Daniel Lauture is a Black man and the president, Daisy Mellet, is a woman. The two leaders are looking to bring medical cannabis in the form of a 100,000-square foot facility to Mount Vernon. With plans of two-tiered cultivation on South Fourth Avenue, they want to be a community resource center, planting a community garden in that same vision. “We want to allow for access to fresh food and invite people in the community to come and have their plots,” Mellet said.
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