Neighbor News
Newton 2-4 Marijuana Store "Limit" Ballot Question is a sham
The so-called "Limit" is just a First Step, and can be raised by the city council at any time.
The Newton, MA City Council has placed two conflicting questions regarding recreational marijuana retail stores on the November 6 ballot. The first question is straightforward - does Newton want to Opt Out of allowing retail recreational marijuana stores in Newton. The second question, the so-called “2-4” question, asks if we want to “limit” the number of recreational marijuana stores to between 2 and 4. In actuality, the 4 store “limit” is no limit at all.
As the sponsor of the 2-4 ballot question, Councilor Josh Krintzman, stated in the City Council meeting when he co-sponsored the question, “There is no legal authority that would constrain us from increasing the number of stores beyond this after the ballot question...if we went with 4, and then the market required more stores, then we could come back, redo our zoning and increase the number if we deemed it appropriate.” So is it a “Limit” or not? Cleary the sponsor of the ballot question thinks that it is just a first step.
So, let’s imagine how this will play out. If the 2-4 store “limit” measure passes, the two current recreational store applicants, Garden Remedies in Newtonville and Cypress Tree on Eliot Street will lobby hard to keep the limit to 2 so that they can have a duopoly. Meanwhile, there will be many new well-financed marijuana entrepreneurs who want to enter the lucrative Newton market since it will become the Metrowest Pot Super-Center (neighboring towns such as Weston, Wellesley, Needham and Dedham have all banned recreational pot retail). They will be lobbying hard to increase the so-called “limit” to more than 4, and citizens will be protesting all this non-stop. How is any of this good for Newton?
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Let’s just skip this battle royale in the making and Opt Out of all this nonsense. Anyone who wants to buy legal recreational pot can just go to Brookline, Boston and other towns that have opted in to recreational pot stores. Medical stores will still be allowed in Newton and elsewhere. Find out more at OptOutNewton.org.
