{"id":7735,"date":"2017-09-19T21:15:18","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T21:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com?p=2793634&amp;preview_id=2793634"},"modified":"2017-09-19T21:15:18","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T21:15:18","slug":"100-massachusetts-towns-have-voted-for-weed-bans-moratoriums-or-zoning-restrictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/100-massachusetts-towns-have-voted-for-weed-bans-moratoriums-or-zoning-restrictions\/","title":{"rendered":"100 Massachusetts towns have voted for weed bans, moratoriums or zoning restrictions"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/100-massachusetts-towns-have-voted-for-weed-bans-moratoriums-or-zoning-restrictions\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"large-10 large-centered small-12 columns\">\n<div class=\"entry-meta-date\">Published: Sep 19, 2017, 7:51 am \u2022 Updated: Sep 19, 2017, 7:53 am<span class=\"single-comments-link\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"byline\">By <strong>Bob Salsberg<\/strong>, <em> The Associated Press<\/em><\/p>\n<p>BOSTON \u2014 Many of the Massachusetts voters who opened the door to legal marijuana are closing the door to pot shops that want to operate in their communities, raising questions about how strong a foothold the cannabis industry can achieve in the state.<\/p>\n<p>More than 100 municipalities already have imposed bans, moratoriums or zoning restrictions on commercial marijuana businesses, with a closely watched <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/07\/19\/milford-massachusetts-marijuana-referendum-advocates\/84028\/\">referendum scheduled for Tuesday in Milford<\/a>, a central Massachusetts town of about 28,000 residents.<\/p>\n<p>In November, 52 percent of the town\u2019s voters approved Question 4, the state ballot initiative that legalized adult use of recreational pot. Milford already is home to two marijuana-related businesses that may go elsewhere if the referendum passes. The measure would not only prohibit retail stores from operating, but any licensed business associated with recreational pot.<\/p>\n<p>The referendum is the first since <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/07\/19\/massachusetts-marijuana-bill-approved-taxes-local-control\/84113\/\">the Legislature revised the voter-approved law<\/a> and created a two-tiered system that requires communities where a majority of voters supported the ballot question to hold a referendum before pot shops can be banned. In places where a majority of voters rejected Question 4, it takes only a vote by the governing body \u2014 town meeting or city council, for example.<\/p>\n<p>To entice cities and towns to welcome pot shops, lawmakers also increased the local option tax on marijuana sales from 2 percent to 3 percent, and allowed communities to negotiate host agreements with retailers that could net an additional 3 percent of gross sales.<\/p>\n<p>The group spearheading the proposed ban in Milford argues it would protect children and public safety and safeguard the \u201cintegrity\u201d of the community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone who voted yes on Question 4 in November also voted yes to allow each community to hold its own vote to determine whether or not pot shops would be allowed to operate in their own communities,\u201d said Geri Eddins, spokeswoman for MilfordCARES. \u201cIn our mind we are exercising the will of the voters.\u201d<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/07\/19\/milford-massachusetts-marijuana-referendum-advocates\/84028\/\">Opponents of the referendum<\/a> say a ban would potentially deprive the town of hundreds of jobs and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue from legal marijuana operations, including the two already in business. ProVerde Laboratories runs a testing lab, and Sage Naturals has a 31,000-square foot cultivation facility that supplies medical marijuana to dispensaries in Cambridge and Somerville.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed ban would not include medical marijuana establishments, but would prevent either company from expanding into the more lucrative recreational marijuana market.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe would have to relocate or shut down,\u201d said Chris Hudalla, founder and chief scientific officer for ProVerde.<\/p>\n<p>Eddins dismissed the threat as \u201cscare tactics\u201d by opponents of the ban.<\/p>\n<p>Turnout on Tuesday remains uncertain, but Bryan Cole of Milford Citizens for Fairness, a group urging residents to reject the ban, said there appears to be significant interest in town and \u201ca lot of back and forth on social media\u201d over the issue.<\/p>\n<p>Should Milford voters decide to keep the door open for pot shops, legalization advocates hope it will begin to signal a shift away from prohibitions elsewhere in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost towns will see within a few years that their counterparts are not suffering any problems from having these businesses in their communities,\u201d said Matthew Schweich, director of state campaigns for the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/marijuana-policy-project\/\">Marijuana Policy Project<\/a>. \u201cSome of these bans will go away.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .row --> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Many Massachusetts towns are closing the door to retail marijuana stores, raising questions about how strong a foothold the cannabis industry can achieve. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6813,77,5667,6858,9,6833,5019,1,3,2379,61,1736],"tags":[6818,2655,5673,6860,6835,5022,4974],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7735"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7735\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}