Town Officials Pursuing Moratorium on Pot Shops in Danvers

Town Meeting members will be asked to consider imposing a one-year moratorium on medical marijuana when they gather for the annual Town Meeting in May.

The Salem News reports that Town Counsel drafted the proposed moratorium with input from other town officials, specifically Selectman Dan Bennett, in light of Attorney General Martha Coakley's recent decision to strike down an all out zoning ban on treatment centers in Wakefield.

At the same time, Coakley said, towns were within their rights to place moratoriums for a certain time, presumably until regulations were developed by state health officials.

The Board of Selectmen endorsed pursuing that measure last week, reports the Salem News, although the board had initially asked town planners to look at drafting zoning restrictions to limit where a treatment center could operate in town.

The proposed moratorium, which will also be a zoning amendment, will go before the Planning Board for a public hearing on April 23 before it can appear as a warrant article at Town Meeting.

You can read the full story from the Salem News here.