Salem Moves Closer To Recreational Marijuana Sales

SALEM, MA -- Salem City Council's ordinance committee endorsed a measure which would allow the sale of marijuana shops located downtown and in neighborhood business districts. But the ordinance stops short of allowing on-site consumption of marijuana, eliminating -- at least for now -- the potential for cannabis cafes. City Council needs to approve the ordinance and the state needs to weigh in with guidelines on retail pots sales before approved shops could begin selling marijuana.

While the ordinance does include two neighborhood business districts, it eliminated two others that were included in a earlier version of the proposal. The two eliminated areas were highway business areas and include parts of Highland Avenue and Canal Street, according to the Salem News, which first reported this story.

"If everything goes smoothly, a year from now, we can add B2 if we want to, or B1," said Ward 7 City Councilor Steve Dibble. "I think we should protect our neighborhoods and keep the activities downtown or along our entrance corridors and the shopping areas, if you would."

More than 60% of Salem voters supported the 2016 ballot question that legalized recreational marijuana sales. Statewide, the measure passed by a margin of 1,745,394 to 1,511,747. Earlier this year, the state legislature passed a "compromise bill" that reworked the law to address concerns in the original language of the law. The expectation is that recreational marijuana sales in Massachusetts will start at some point in 2018.
More on this story:

• Salem May Be Open To Experimenting With Recreational Marijuana (11/29/2017)
• Peabody Poised To Ban Retail Marijuana Sales (11/10/2017)

For more on this story, see the Salem News. Subscribe to Salem Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).