TODAY'S MOZEN: DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

 

Originally published in Nyack News and Views

On September 17, 1787, during the Continental Congress, Benjamin Franklin was reportedly asked by a local woman, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a Republic or a Monarchy?” at which Dr. Franklin replied, “a Republic, if you can keep it.”

The meaning SHOULD be obvious to all Americans. And that is: having and maintaining a Republic is a participatory event. For Democracy to work, it requires the ACTIVE engagement of ALL its citizens, not only to vote but to be involved with issues that affect our Country as a whole. There is a term for that - Democracy in Action. And it was on full display this past Sunday (3/9).

A group of citizens concerned about the direction our current Administration is leading us down came together in South Nyack, NY to express not just concern, but outrage over what so many Americans see as a deliberate attempt to limit the freedom so many have sacrificed so much to win. The date of the event was also steeped in symbolism as it corresponded to the 60^th Anniversary of the infamous “Bloody Sunday” attack on a group of peaceful marchers in Alabama. Mostly blacks but with some whites, they were there to raise awareness of voting rights for ALL. As they attempted to cross The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on their way to Montgomery, they were viciously and savagely attacked by the police and an angry mob using dogs, nightsticks, and water cannons. Many people, including the legendary John Lewis, were beaten without mercy. Can you image? All because these people were simply demanding their Constitutional right to VOTE! The images that were shown of the attack shocked not only the nation, but the world.

So, on a bitterly cold morning, under the auspices of Indivisible Rockland, a civic organization dedicated to resisting President Trump’s often draconian Executive Orders and beyond, a crowd estimated at 500 concerned citizens assembled peacefully to honor those who marched that day 60 years ago and continued marching despite the violence against them. After assembling at a local church and led by Rabbi Ariel Russo of Congregation Sons of Israel and Pastor Everett Newton of The First Emmanuel Church of Christ, the modern-day Freedom Marchers would travel in an orderly fashion on the SUP (Shared Use Path)to midspan of The Mario Cuomo Bridge, not only commemorate those who survived that fateful day but to continue in the tradition of active participation in our democratic process. There they would unfurl a banner to identify these folks as being from Rockland County, NY and then peacefully return. The relative fitness of the marches seemed not to matter. Some were even in wheelchairs, but they all managed to walk a total of about 5 or 6 miles.

Bill Batson, Indivisible Rockland Organizing Committee Member, summed it up their purpose best when he said, “The ideals enshrined in the stories of Americans like John Lewis who led the first wave of marches over the Edmund Pettus Bridge, are being expunged from the public and private sphere. In the span of one month 60 years of progress has been erased. We need to stop this mean-spirited, discriminatory backlash and reassert the Constitutional guarantees of all Civil Rights era advances.”

For me, perhaps the most poignant moment was when an elderly, but still strong and vital black woman named Cora Parker spoke. She told the crowd that she was a young girl when she was at The Edmund Pettus Bridge on that fateful day with her brothers and sisters. She spoke with tears in her eyes as she recalled first her confusion as to what was happening and then her abject terror when she saw the police savagely beating everyone, including her own brothers. She sought shelter with her sisters in a local church until the violence subsided. But even she was not immune to the violence and still bears the physical scars from the batons and a cattle prod (yes, a CATTLE PROD) that were used to beat her down. You could still see the pain in her eyes. The physical scars may have healed but the mental ones caused by being treated as less-than-human will never go away.

However, in addition to the tears, I saw a resolute rage in her eyes. She was shaking with emotion as she continued to relate her story and promising much as the Jews did after the Holocaust that it must never happen again. WE must make sure that it never happens again. The future is OURS to make. We only fail when we relinquish our humanity and yield to our baser instincts of fear and loathing. And there is HOPE. But remember what Dr. Franklin said, we have our Republic, if we can keep it. I intend to. And if last Sunday was an indication, I am not alone.

EPILOG: Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority.

Henry David Thoreau 

 

Today's MOZEN: REEFER MADNESS

I remember the first time I smelled marijuana. It was 1970 and I was a sophomore at Fort Lee High School. I was on a bus heading to my first big concert at the old Fox Theater in Hackensack, NJ to see Leslie West and his band Mountain. There was a group of slightly older kids in the back of the bus. Hippies, I thought to myself. I’m sure they were heading to the same show. They were laughing and having a great time when suddenly a cloud of smoke wafted my way. When it enveloped me, I took note of the smell: acrid but still sweet. It intrigued me. I kinda’ liked it. And then it hit me – so THIS is what everyone was talking about. It’s marijuana, a.k.a. pot, reefer, smoke, weed, cannabis.

Although I didn’t indulge, and never really did very much in high school, I was intrigued by the whole scene. It was a counterculture way of life that interested me then and still does.  However, since it was 1970 pot was illegal EVERYWHERE. But so was its presence. It just thrived in an underground environment that despite the warnings about smoking the demon weed, was easy to access. I remember one such example:

There was a bodega at 175^th Street and Fort Washington Ave in Upper Manhattan that we called The Stop and Cop. It had a small window at the back of the store that resembled one you used to buy a ticket at the movies – you know, a round whole for speaking through and a slot at the bottom to exchange money for tickets – or in this case, pot. You asked for a nickel or dime bag at which time you slid $5 or $10 through the slot and received a package with the appropriate amount. Since I lived in Fort Lee, my friends and I could either walk across the GWB, take one bus, or if we got lucky, someone had a car and drove us there. See. Easy – stop and cop.

Well, we’ve come a long way baby!

It’s a little-known fact that so-called medicinal marijuana has been legalized in NYS since 2014. But it was the legislation to legalize recreational cannabis in October of 2021 that proved to be the Sea Shift in the way it is sold and consumed. And since 2014, According to Whitney Economics, U.S. adult-use and medical cannabis sales grew $2.6 billion (9.14%) year-over-year, totaling $31.4 billion in 2024. Whitney Economics predicts cannabis to see extreme sales growth over the next few years: 2025: $35.2 billion in sales, growing 12.1% from 2024.

In addition to that massive revenue, the law promised a safer industry through regulation and strict control. It was also an opportunity for local communities to raise significant funds for their municipality’s sales tax. They were given the choice to “opt in” to the program or not. However, once they did allow Cannabis Dispensaries, they could not prevent them from doing business in their towns and villages. But they could pass local resolutions to control where they conducted their business. This opened a potential can of worms. More later.

And that business has exploded! With that have come the many challenges associated with that type of exponential growth, i.e. people bending or breaking the rules. Plus, much of the stigma associated with the use of cannabis remains. Parents with children see dispensaries in the hearts of their towns as having the potential to become dens of iniquity, luring young people to their doors where they will be preyed upon by unsavory drug dealers. Despite little if any data to support that claim, the fear is real for many people.

This very scenario is currently being played out in the Village of Nyack, NY. With a population of about 7000 people, it prides itself on both its artistic heritage and its progressive politics. So, when given the opportunity to “opt-in” to cannabis dispensaries, the village council voted unanimously to do so. Their reasoning was that ANY well run, legitimate business that would bring commerce to the downtown area is welcome. They further added a restriction on having no more than one such business every 2000 feet. Current Mayor Joe Rand who was also at the village helm when the original vote was taken in 2023  still supports the dispensaries. He even envisions a time when based on the layout of the village, that distance restriction may even be eased to accommodate even more, again echoing that “ANY good business is good for Nyack”

Of course, this position was met with significant opposition from both local and regional residents, mostly parents of young and teenaged children, as well as some local businesses. Their concerns are mainly routed in the assumption that any such dispensary would bring unsavory characters into the heart of the village. Then, their greatest fears were realized when a Medical Marijuana Dispensary (with the option to convert to recreational) asked for and was granted permission to open in the old, long vacant Starbucks Coffee near the corner of Broadway and Main Street. They cited the fact that Nyack already HAS a legitimate licensed dispensary, Treehouse Cannabis, that was appropriated located on the edge of town. Plus, there were several other smoke shops within the heart of town that may or may not be selling cannabis illegally.

They created a petition condemning the location of the new shop and garnered nearly 900 signatures. The petition was then presented during a special open session of a town council meeting. The public was also allowed to share their thoughts on the subject. The actual presenters of the petition were given 5 minutes to state their case. Others were allowed to follow up with a 1-minute statement/reply. Despite the time limits, the debate became so passionate that the mayor had to call the meeting to order on more than one occasion. The major complaint was not against the USE of cannabis itself. It was the LOCATION, as the shop would be between a pizzeria and an ice cream shop, obviously places frequented by a lot of kids.

Despite the vocal and visceral reaction of the opposition, Mayor Rand held steadfast to his original position. He also pointed out several points of law, the most important of which were:

1. The shop will be HEAVILY regulated by the State, which includes security measures that will ensure that sales will not go to minors.

2. Smoking marijuana will NOT be tolerated in front of the store.

3. Also, the Village has NO authority to prevent this legitimate, State sanctioned business from operating within the boundaries of Nyack.

The mayor also addressed the petition directly, citing that despite the 800+ signatures, only about 400 of them came directly from Nyack. Therefore, out of a village of about 7000, it did NOT the sentiments of the majority of Nyackers.

In a recent BEING FRANK podcast I hosted Seth and Ricky Marks, co-owners of the afore mentioned Treehouse Cannabis, the family-run, only legally licensed cannabis dispensary in Rockland County. At that time, they expressed that they had NO opposition to another legally operated dispensary within proximity to their own store. In fact, in keeping with their tradition of community cooperation, they echoed the sentiments of Mayor Rand, i.e. good business is good for Nyack – and what is good for Nyack is good for Treehouse. They also dismissed the image of drug-addled, drooling pedophiles lurking in front of their store. They WORK at running a clean, legitimate shop. It’s in EVERYONE’S best interest to run a clean business. It’s up to the Town of Orangetown to shut down any other shop that is conducting illegal marijuana sales.

My thoughts are these: I feel that the location, despite the intense opposition to the contrary, in many ways, is perfect. The fact that IS so visible, right in the heart of town, means that the shop will be in constant view. Again, it will be in THEIR best interest to be good neighbors, to observe the rules, and be sensitive to the needs of the community. Assuming the opposite falls prey to the old image of REFFER MADNESS. Those days are over. The STOP AND COP is finally regulated to a funny anecdote. This way is MUCH better.