Bellingham to let voters decide on recreational pot sales in town

BELLINGHAM – The town residents on March 6 will decide whether recreational marijuana establishments will be allowed to set up shop in town.

During a special election March 6, voters will be asked to debate a bylaw amendment that would ban all recreational marijuana business in town. The ban would amend the town’s zoning bylaws to outlaw “independent testing laboratories, marijuana product manufacturers, and marijuana retailers.”

The ban would not affect marijuana cultivators, which would be allowed by special permit only in the Industrial Zone.

A “yes” vote on the ballot question would add the bylaw preventing the sales of retail marijuana. A “no vote would not add the bylaw, therefore marijuana would be allowed to be sold in town.

The special election vote would be the first of a twostep process to enact a prohibition on such facilities. The second would be a two-thirds vote at a Special Town Meeting on March 28.

Town officials are calling for the special election next month because applications for recreational marijuana retail could be submitted as ear- ly as April 1.

Massachusetts voters approved a ballot measure in November of 2016 legalizing the use and sale of recreational marijuana for those 21 and older. It became legal for adults to use, possess, grow or give away marijuana in December, but retail stores can’t start selling recreational marijuana until July.

The final recreational marijuana law that the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker enacted has a provision for local control that depends on how residents voted on the statewide ballot question.

In places that voted against legalization, town councils have the authority to ban recreational sales. But in places where residents voted in favor of legalization – like Bellingham - any local government that wants to ban it has to bring the question to voters as community-wide ballot referendum.

Many towns have implemented moratoriums to prevent shops from opening while officials and residents explore local controls for the businesses.

The Legislature also created the Cannabis Control Commission, which is expected to issue licensing guidelines and regulations for marijuana retail by March 15 and begin accepting

applications for licenses on April 1. Meanwhile, the law states that communities can

call a referendum vote to ban recreational marijuana companies from operating in town.

The recreational marijuana law allows for municipalities to adopt ordinances or bylaws that regulate the “time, place, and manner of operations” of recreational marijuana facilities, so long as such bylaws or ordinances are not “unreasonably impracticable.” Local governments seeking to limit the number of marijuana dispensaries to

less than 20 percent of the number of liquor licenses issued for the municipality will need to have that limit or ban approved by “a vote of the voters,” construed by many experts to be a referendum at the next available election.

Many towns have imposed temporary moratoriums while they study the issue further.

The state’s Cannabis Control Commission faces a May 1 statutory deadline to open up the application pro-

cess for growers and retailers. By June 1, it must begin approving licenses. There’s also a Dec. 31 deadline to take over the regulation of medical marijuana from the state Department of Public Health.

The commission filed with the Secretary of State’s Office, the state’s first draft regulations for the purpose of implementing the adult use of marijuana in Massachusetts. The draft regulations, reflect more than 80 policies discussed and voted

upon.

The draft regulations allow for the application of 8 different license categories and provide their process and operational requirements. Additionally, they detail incentives, programs and resources to promote social equity and support for communities which have been disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of previous marijuana laws; the approval of products and the requirements for labeling, packaging, advertising

and serving sizes; and theb enforcement of regulations, security and municipal pro-p tections.

The Cannabis Control Commission is also conduct public hearings on the draft regulations this month.

The Commission expects to promulgate the final regulations by March 15, allowing for the first license applications to be available at the beginning of April.