Voters in Westwood have decided resoundingly to prohibit recreational marijuana businesses in the town, joining a growing number of communities that have outlawed the legal operations within their town borders.
The vote in the April 25 Westwood election was 1,098 to 256 to impose the ban, which does not apply to medical marijuana dispensaries.
The local law needs approval from the state attorney general’s office, which has approved similar bylaws in West Bridgewater, Ashland, Millbury, Lincoln, and North Reading — and has reviews pending on bylaws adopted in Lincoln, Hamilton, and Westborough.
Norwood and Stoughton also recently voted to prohibit recreational marijuana businesses in their towns.
Massachusetts voters legalized the cultivation, distribution, possession, and use of marijuana for recreational purposes in November 2016. However, the state has yet to issue regulations on how to implement the law.
The attorney general’s office has said that the marijuana law allows communities to adopt “ordinances and by-laws that impose reasonable safeguards on the operation of marijuana establishments,” including their prohibition.
The office also has sanctioned temporary bans, writing in the West Bridgewater bylaw review, for example, that a temporary moratorium is consistent with a town’s “authority to impose reasonable time limitations on development so that the Town can engage in a legitimate planning study.”
According to the Massachusetts Municipal Association, about 70 other communities will vote this spring on either a temporary moratorium or permanent ban. Among those towns are Cohasset, Foxborough, Hanover, Hull, Mansfield, Milton, Pembroke, and Scituate.
Some communities, including Westwood at its May Town Meeting, will decide whether to ban the consumption of recreational marijuana in any public space, including sidewalks, streets, parks, cemeteries, beaches, and parking lots.
credit:bostonglobe.com
