BABYLON, NY – Babylon Cannabis pharmacies make big money on Long Island.

Until now, There are only two stationary cannabis stores there, and they are both in the city of Babylon.

Babylon City Councilman Richard Schaffer counts the money and invests the tax revenue in treatment and prevention programs.

“Now it’s legal, it’s here and it’s not going away. It makes money,” said Jennifer DeSetto, adding that there is still a lot of stigma attached to legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

“I was skeptical and voted against it,” Schaffer said.

He was against the establishment of dispensaries in his city, but when she saw his coffers increase by $1.2 million in just nine months, he changed his mind.

“We can do very positive things with taxpayers’ money”

“It became clear to me that we can do very positive things with these taxpayer dollars,” Schaffer said.

These include drug education, prevention and treatment programs, and a new chemical dependency treatment center.

“The fact that funding from cannabis cultivation is helping us help people with their drug problems is really incredible,” said Colleen Perrone of the Beacon Family Wellness Center.

When New York legalized recreational cannabisA cannabis reserve fund was set up to distribute the revenue from the marijuana tax to the individual municipalities.

“It’s a win-win situation. Great for taxes and I love that people know they’re getting a good and clean product,” said Daniel Fouladi.

Happy Days and Strain Stars in Babylon are currently the only state-licensed cannabis shops on Long Island, with more in the pipeline.

“We have about 2,000 customers a week. If we’re doing well, hopefully the community is doing well,” said Tushar Mallick, co-owner of Strain Stars.

Many opponents and fears of marijuana legalization support Babylon’s efforts.

“The fact that Babylon took the funds and turned them into prevention methods and treatments for families, I think, is absolutely commendable,” said Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds of the Family & Children’s Association.

Babylon Town says it is on track to collect more than $2 million in cannabis taxes within a year.