Braintree Town Council Just Said No To Marijuana

BRAINTREE, MA — Recreational marijuana businesses are not welcome in Braintree following a vote from the town council.

With a full room of residents marijuana opponents applauding the 9-0 vote, Braintree became the latest community to opt out of the state’s marijuana law, meaning that any operations involving the recreational drug are banned from town. Council President Charles Ryan said it would be a full seed-to-sale ban.

"People can still have marijuana, they just have to go to another town to buy it. People can still make marijuana, they have to do it in another town. Not in our town," Councilor Stephen O'Brien said.

Aside from one speaker, there was no opposition to the proposal and according to the town councilors, no one they spoke to was against the ban.

“I’ve never had more people, other than school space needs, reach out to me on an issue. I have yet to hear someone say (marijuana) is a good idea,” Councilor Shannon Hume said.

Councilor Charles Kokoros went a step further and said state voters made a mistake in passing Question 4, the 2016 voter referendum which legalized the drug.

“Maybe the feds will come in and do something, hopefully,” Kokoros said.

Councilor David Ringus added that people are backing the ban because they, “don’t want to see this erode the traditions and values we have in Braintree.”

No one was likely more pleased with the end result of the night than Peter Thompson, a resident who lost a son to a heroin overdose and helped form the Braintree’s Community Partnership on Substance Abuse.

“We have enough trouble out there. Tonight you made a big step forward, you left (Braintree) better than you found it,” he said. “We’re not Quincy, we’re not Brockton.”

Faisal Shahid of Commercial Street was the only speaker to be fully against the ban. He said the historical propaganda against marijuana was the reason for the strong feeling against the drugs.

“I would implore the council and the town to reconsider. What you should have done is done your research and hopefully gotten over your biases,” he said.

When he asked if the town would accept tax revenue from marijuana businesses, Ryan said they would accept any tax revenue from the state.

The ban does not have an impact on medical marijuana, which cannot be banned and is governed by a different set of regulations.

Image: File Photo