The Long Island cannabis industry could undergo a major shift if President Donald Trump follows through on his recent statements that he is considering federally reclassifying cannabis as a less dangerous drug.

The move could allow for more accessible banking services, expanded tax write-offs, and fewer financial hurdles for those in the industry and new research opportunities for scientists, according to cannabis professionals and state officials.

When President Trump said on Aug. 11 he was considering reclassifying cannabis in the coming weeks, he didn't set a deadline for the decision. He said then that he's "heard great things having to do with medical" usage of cannabis and "bad things having to do with just about everything else."

Gahrey Ovalle, the president of local advocacy and trade group Cannabis Coalition of Long Island, said that rescheduling is "common sense reform."

"I think it’s an issue that needs to be resolved, and we’re moving toward that, albeit glacially," Ovalle said. "We think it’s about time and long overdue."

Lee Meyer reports in NEWSDAY that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) divides controlled substances into five schedules, with Schedule I substances considered to have no medical value. They include substances like heroin and ecstasy. While cannabis is legal in New York State, it’s federally outlawed and currently classified as a Schedule I drug, according to the DEA.

President Trump said he is considering rescheduling marijuana as a Schedule III drug, which the DEA refers to as "drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence." Schedule III drugs include substances such as ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone.

Experts emphasize that rescheduling is not the same as legalizing the drug; it would still be illegal federally unless the Trump administration also pushed for lowering criminal penalties.

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Southampton Town is considering awarding $2.4 million to a developer planning affordable apartments in Riverside in the hopes the project will spur revitalization in the hamlet.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the project would be a joint venture between the town and Georgica Green Ventures, which is proposing a 40-unit apartment complex with 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail on Flanders Road, just east of the traffic circle. It’s the first large-scale development proposed in the hamlet since Southampton created a new sewer district there last year.

Of the 40 units proposed in Riverside, there would be two studios, 25 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments that would be affordable in perpetuity, officials said.

Southampton Town has more than $30 million in its Community Housing Fund, which raises money through a 0.5% tax on real estate transfers.

The proposed complex hinges on construction of the new sewer district in Riverside, which would improve water quality in the Peconic River.

The intensity of proposed redevelopment in Riverside prompted Riverhead to file a lawsuit against Southampton Town last year. Riverhead said the development would strain town resources and argued Southampton’s new sewer district should serve the nearby Suffolk County Center complex. The Town of Riverhead services the complex, which is in the town of Southampton but has a Riverhead ZIP code. Southampton filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and a decision is pending.

Funding for the $44.6 million plant project is in place through county, state and federal grants, officials have said.

Designs are underway, and the town could seek bids for construction in 2026 according to Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Z. Moore.

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The Montauk Historical Society presents their August Second House Fair this coming weekend…Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

“Please join us at our ever-popular summer Second House Fair on the beautiful grounds of the Second House from 10 AM to 6 PM on SATURDAY and SUNDAY. Enjoy live acoustic music and grab a snack as you browse the booths at our annual showcase of high-quality, hand-crafted goods. While you’re here, come and see the beautiful photography exhibition inside our newly reopened Second House, now fully restored thanks to the Town of East Hampton!

Second House Museum

12 2nd House Road

Montauk, NY 11954 United States

The Montauk Historical Society (MHS) was incorporated in January 1962, just as our hamlet was on the cusp of rapidly transforming from a remote fishing village into a busy summer resort. The main intention behind the society, then as now, was to research, study, preserve, and share our history so that it might become a part of our consciousness even as we look to the future.”

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The Southampton History Museum is suing the Town of Southampton over the rights to a part of historic waterfront property, alleging the town illegally claimed ownership of it to block the eviction of a shellfish hatchery.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the nonprofit museum alleged the town conspired with the hatchery and Suffolk County to alter tax map records, designating Southampton as the owner of 2 of the 5 acres at Conscience Point.

The new tax map was issued by the Suffolk County Real Property Tax Service Agency in April and divides the property into two parcels owned by the museum and town.

The Aug. 13 filing in State Supreme Court in Suffolk County accuses the town of abusing its power for a “land grab.” The filing alleged the town circumvented due process that would have required what’s known as a quiet title action to definitively settle ownership disputes.

“We don’t take people’s land without due process,” Sheila Tendy, an attorney for the museum, told NEWSDAY on Friday. “Those are civil rights violations which are protected by federal law.”

Since 2015, the 2-acre portion of the property has housed the Conscience Point Shellfish Hatchery, which grows oysters and clams to repopulate local bays and promotes aquaculture to local students.

The Southampton History Museum declined to renew the hatchery's lease and began eviction proceedings in January. The museum alleged several lease violations, including subleasing to commercial oyster farmers and distributing shellfish to the public, restaurants and wholesalers, the filing said.

Commercial activities at the site “jeopardize” the museum’s status as a tax-exempt nonprofit, the suit said.

Conscience Point is a Southampton Town landmark and landing site of the first English settlers to Southampton in 1640. The museum says it has owned the site since 1910, but the town intervened in the eviction process, saying it owns 2 acres at the site based on deeds from 1880 and 1925.

The sides are due in court on Sept. 9.

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The Riverhead Town Board holds a public hearing this evening at 6 p.m. on a “Monroe Balancing Test” to determine whether the Suffolk County Water Authority is exempt from local zoning rules in its plan to run the North Fork Pipeline from Flanders to the Southold Town line, mostly along roads within Riverhead Town.

Meanwhile, Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the Suffolk County Water Authority is urging all of its customers…including those on the north fork…to reduce their water usage, which has reached “dangerously high levels” due to hot, dry weather. The SCWA public water system has experienced “several consecutive weeks of high water use during the overnight hours and early morning,” the water authority said in a press release last week. Storage tanks in several areas are taking longer to recover, pushing the system to its limits and dropping water pressures, the authority said. The authority, which initially issued a Stage 1 Water Alert on July 23, is asking customers to refrain from all lawn watering until further notice.

Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that in the Town of Riverhead, where public water is provided by the Riverhead Water District, there is currently no water emergency and no use restrictions. Customers, however, should still implement conservation measures such as the odd-even watering schedule, Riverhead Water District Superintendent Frank Mancini said yesterday. “We always want people to be cognizant of their water usage and not use too much,” Mancini said, noting that the system is “one failure away from being in an emergency. But right now, knock on wood, we’re doing just fine,” he said.

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The Riverhead Town Board is considering legislation that would strictly limit the use of electric bicycles throughout the town by prohibiting them from traveling on major town roads, capping their speed, and banning their use at night. Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the proposed law, presented by Deputy Town Attorney Danielle Hurley last week, would expand a 2021 local law that heavily regulated electric scooters to also include e-bikes — referred to in the law as “bicycles with electric assist.” It would also increase fines for violations.

Under the proposal, e-bikes would be limited to a maximum speed of 15 mph and prohibited from operating on any sidewalk in Riverhead Town.

“Any type of use of those alternate modes of transportation on sidewalks poses a potential danger to pedestrians on the sidewalks and to the users themselves,” Hurley said…adding that she doesn’t think the proposal heavily restricts e-bikes. The public will get a chance to comment on the proposal at a public hearing before the Riverhead Town Board decides whether to adopt the legislation.

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin yesterday announced new federal "guidelines" for battery-energy storage facilities that encourage but do not mandate local control in siting the controversial facilities. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that speaking at a Hauppauge firehouse whose chief expressed "strong concerns and opposition" to a plant there, Zeldin offered support for battery opponents' concerns, but stopped short of an order that would have put the facilities under federal government control.

Asked by Newsday why the guidelines weren't federal mandates, Zeldin said, "The siting, the zoning for these facilities, that’s not something that gets any better by micromanaging from some agency in Washington, D.C."

Zeldin, a Republican and former NYS senator and U.S. congressman from Shirley, Long Island, said the EPA was instead "offering the technical expertise that we have if, God forbid, there is a lithium-ion fire. The next time there is a lithium-ion fire, our agency is ready to be there to answer the call." His comments disappointed some who strongly oppose the battery facilities being proposed by Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Long Island Power Authority across the region. Nor did Zeldin's guidelines come close to matching the level of opposition voiced by the event's other speakers, including the Hauppauge fire chief, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and state Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James).

Most Long Island towns have moratoriums on battery storage plants, following fires at three facilities in the state in 2023, including one in East Hampton that burned for more than 30 hours.

Christina Kramer, a Nassau County resident who heads up the activist group Protect Our Coast Long Island NY, said the best solution to siting of the plants may be a law that prevents battery plants from being located 5 to 10 miles from homes and business districts.

Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," while limiting subsidies for solar, wind and other green energy, carved out a reprieve for battery facilities. Under the law, large-scale battery facilities must be completed by 2033 in order to receive a lucrative federal tax credit — considerably longer than limits put on other green-energy projects — though there are new limits on foreign content in the batteries.