Newton Passes Temporary Ban on Recreational Marijuana Shops

NEWTON, MA - Last night at the Zoning and Planning Committee public hearing, City Council narrowly passed a temporary ban on recreational marijuana establishments in Newton until December 31, 2018.

Voting Results: 4 in favor, 3 against, and 1 abstention.

This means recreational marijuana establishments will not be able to apply for a license in Newton until the end of the year. This is a delay in comparison with the state, which according to draft regulations, plans to begin accepting license applications in April.

In 2016, Newton voted 54.7% to 45.3% in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana on the highly controversial question number four. However, they will join approximately 90 other Massachusetts towns in passing a temporary ban on these recreational establishments.

Newton’s Zoning and Planning Committee stated a temporary ban would enable them to have the time they need to write new zoning regulations. Their main worries about not having extended time include:

1. Having no limit on the number of establishments allowed in Newton
2. Having no location or zoning regulations set in place
3. Having no rules in place about other forms of marijuana establishments, such as cultivation or production facilities.

Details about parking, signage, and hours were also said to need further review.

This in turn brought many concerns and questions from local residents about the Committee’s attention to the matter so far, along with frustrations about the wait.

Bob Cavanaugh, a resident of Newton, said, “It’s been 15 months since voters approved, and now we’re being told “Gee, we need more time?”...I don’t know what [the committee] has actually done, only what they have to do.”

Another point residents made came down to respecting voter decisions. “Voters voted one way; they ought to be taken into consideration,” Cavanaugh said.

John Mathis of Newton expressed a similar view, stating, “[They] should abide by the wishes of the people.”

On the other hand, one resident voiced support for the temporary ban, citing worries about the impact marijuana establishments would have on kids. She expressed the “desire to provide a supportive environment with constructive activities.”

The state’s Cannabis Control Commission did work to address this concern in their draft regulations, which were released in December 2017. The drafts states that by default there will be a 500-ft buffer zone between marijuana establishments and private and public K-12 schools.

Garden Remedies

One topic of debate was how the proposed temporary ban would affect Garden Remedies, an existing medical marijuana establishment in Newton. They have been operating in Newton since 2016 under a medical-marijuana license and are looking to expand to an adult-use license. Jim Smith, an attorney representing the company, argued for Garden Remedies be excluded from the potential temporary ban.

In the end they left disappointed as the Council denied their proposal. While this will not affect their medical-license practice, it will delay their hopes in getting a general adult-use license soon.

State Regulations

Susan Albright, Council at Large in Ward 2, said she attended the Massachusetts Municipal Association meeting for local officials in January where the topic of recreational marijuana was discussed. She remarked that the room was packed with people from many different towns. “We are not alone in trying to figure this out,” she stated.

The Zoning and Planning committee said they were in part waiting for the state’s Cannabis Control Commission to release the final regulations on March 15 before creating a local framework themselves, as this was going to be used as a reference point for how to regulate. They said they did not want to quickly put a rule in place that would eventually conflict with state law.

Some towns have also decided to wait for the state’s regulations, while others have created a loose framework that they plan to update as needed when the final regulations are released.

This again highlighted the time it is taking Newton to create a basic framework for regulation. Councilor Baker said, “Maybe we could have dealt with it sooner, but that’s the way it is.” He said he believed it was still “prudent to ask for more time.”

As the public hearing carried on, there was much debate among the Councilors over potential edits to the ban. Councilor Leary proposed reducing the length of the temporary ban, hoping for a September deadline, but this was argued to be a difficult time frame due to the lack of Council and Committee members available over the summer.

In the end, the temporary ban stood as is. However, councilors from both sides believed it is a topic that needs much attention. “The administration heard loud and clear that councilors want to get this done” said Councilor Albright.

Next Steps

On February 20th, the decision to temporarily ban will be presented to the full Council. If it passes, the City will have the extended time they need to create zoning regulations. Recreational marijuana establishments will be able to apply for a license after the ban concludes at the end of the year.