Long Island spends heavily on legal cannabis and has remarkably few places to buy it. Nassau County, as of 2026, has no licensed adult-use dispensary at all. Suffolk's licensed shops cluster in a handful of towns. The reason is a decision most municipalities made in the last weeks of 2021, and it explains nearly every "why is the nearest shop twenty minutes away" question on the Island.
The rule, plainly
When New York legalized adult-use cannabis in 2021, it gave towns, cities and villages a one-time choice. By passing a local law before December 31, 2021, a municipality could opt out of hosting retail dispensaries, on-site consumption lounges, or both. The fine print matters:
- Possession and use stayed legal everywhere. No municipality could opt out of legalization itself. Adults 21+ in an opted-out town have the same rights as anyone else in the state.
- Only two license types could be blocked. Retail dispensaries and consumption sites. Municipalities cannot opt out of other adult-use license types, or medical cannabis.
- Counties had no say. Nassau and Suffolk could not opt out; only their towns, cities and villages could.
- A town's vote stops at the village line. A town's opt-out covers only the area outside its incorporated villages, and villages decided for themselves.
- The door only swings one way. Once the 2021 deadline passed, no one could opt out. But an opted-out municipality can opt back in at any time by repealing its local law.
Who said yes
Long Island had the highest opt-out rates in the state, across towns, villages and both of its cities. On the Island, four towns let retail in: Babylon, Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton, all in Suffolk.
Babylon's yes was close to an accident. The town board could not pass the resolution needed to schedule the required public hearing, and without a hearing it could not opt out, so it opted in by default. It then zoned dispensaries into the industrial Route 110 corridor in the north of the town, with buffers from homes, schools and houses of worship. That is why several of the Island's busiest licensed shops sit near the county line in East Farmingdale (see the Farmingdale hub). The town later set store hours of 9 AM to 9 PM Monday through Saturday and 10 AM to 8 PM on Sundays.
Who said no
The opt-outs as of the 2021 deadline included the towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Huntington, Islip, Smithtown, Southold, East Hampton and Shelter Island, the cities of Glen Cove and Long Beach, and villages including Patchogue, Port Jefferson and Greenport.
The village rule produces some odd maps. The Village of Babylon opted out in November 2021, a month before its surrounding town ended up opting in. So the town that hosts some of the Island's busiest dispensaries has none in its namesake village.
Nassau, specifically
With all three Nassau towns and both cities out, no village or town in Nassau permits dispensaries as of 2026. The only Nassau municipality that never opted out is the Village of Lake Success, which in June 2026 introduced a zoning amendment that could open the door to a dispensary, then postponed its hearing in July while the Suffolk towns' lawsuit over local zoning power plays out. The Village of Hempstead has floated its own code change, with its hearing also postponed.
Meanwhile the demand is plain. Long Island accounts for roughly 10% of the state's legal cannabis sales, and Nassau shoppers spend about $47 per transaction against $33 statewide, according to 2026 reporting.
Who can opt back in
Southold opted out in 2021 with its supervisor saying the town would study opting back in once state rules were final, and the question was still a live debate in its 2025 town elections. Any opted-out municipality could do the same at any time; none on the Island had as of mid-2026.
Delivery fills the gaps
The opt-out covered storefronts and lounges. It did not cover delivery, and licensed dispensaries can deliver to residents of opted-out towns anywhere in the state. For most of Nassau, delivery is the licensed option. The state's delivery rules:
- Prepaid only, online or by phone. No cash to the courier.
- ID and a signature at the door, from the buyer or a designated adult 21+ who also shows ID.
- Residences and private businesses only. Never a park, a beach, a school, a public building or anyone in a car.
- Within store hours, with fees set by the shop.
- The same limits: up to three ounces of flower and 24 grams of concentrated cannabis, a category that includes edibles and vapes.
Verify licensed status via the OCM QR code at cannabis.ny.gov before ordering or visiting; unlicensed shops operate on the Island too, and they don't announce themselves. The dispensary directory lists licensed retailers by town.
What it means for your weekend
The Island's geography turns cannabis shopping into a driving errand more often than anywhere else in the state. That makes one rule worth repeating more than usual: never drive after consuming, and plan the stop so the ride home comes first. New York state law prohibits cannabis consumption on state-owned land and in public spaces, which on Long Island covers the state parks and beaches from Jones Beach to Montauk. For newcomers to edibles: start low, go slow, at home.
For the North Fork end of the map, the Riverhead hub has the most up-to-date picture.
