SOUTHAMPTON — The town opened its doors to the marijuana business at Tuesday night’s special Town Meeting.
In the William E. Norris School gymnasium, nearly 90 residents gathered for the meeting, where voters approved five articles pertaining to recreational and medicinal marijuana — including a 3 percent tax on the sale of marijuana products, setting a limit on the number of pot shops allowed, and establishing a $300 fine to dissuade public consumption of marijuana. There was a total of 27 articles on the warrant.
The five articles relating to the town’s marijuana bylaws were approved by the Planning Board during a Dec. 5 public hearing, according to Chairman Paul Diemand. A temporary moratorium on selling of recreational marijuana had been set at a special town meeting in January 2018. The moratorium expired Dec. 1.
Article 1 of the meeting’s warrant set the sales tax at 3 percent; Article 2 set the limit of shops to half the number of licenses issued by the town for package stores (the town currently has four); and Article 3 established a prohibition for the public consumption of marijuana, with an exclusion for medicinal marijuana patients.
Out of the three articles, the third generated the most discussion when an amendment to the original article was introduced on the floor by resident Ben Hogan. The amendment Hogan introduced would make an exception to the $300 fine for public consumption for prescription-carrying medicinal marijuana users.
“As an Army vet and current first responder, there is a big issue with PTSD in the veterans community,” Hogan said. “It’s proven that prescription marijuana has reduced the opioid epidemic with vets.”
Interim Police Chief Ian Illingsworth clarified that those with prescriptions for medical marijuana would have to carry them with them in order to not be fined.
There was some discussion over the language of the amendment, and the words “in all forms” were included in the amendment to include the consumption of marijuana in its various forms beyond smoking, such as edibles, pills, and vaporizers.
Resident Lawrence Mace objected to the “arbitrary, ill-defined” language of how the bylaw defines public consumption of marijuana, contending that a fine stemming simply from the smell of marijuana would be “preposterous.”
Diemand responded by saying “this is a work in progress … but if we don’t pass these articles, we are not covered by any regulations on the books for people coming in and we leave ourselves exposed.” He said the bylaws could be amended at future town meetings if needed, and the amended article passed unanimously.
Articles 5 and 6 established the regulations for recreational and medicinal marijuana shops in Southampton. The zoning bylaws require marijuana businesses to apply for a special permit in the industrial and commercial districts.
“When someone brings an application forward, they would have to undergo a site plan review process,” Diemand said, adding that there would be conditions such as mitigation of odor that could be imposed upon special permit applicants.
Other articles to pass during the meeting included the transfer of $106,845.55 to the town’s capital stabilization fund, appropriating $8,000 for several improvements to the HVAC system and plumbing in Town Hall, and transferring $14,208.29 to the police department to update outdated computer equipment and software.
For the last article on the warrant, residents authorized the borrowing of $1.6 million to replace the East Street Bridge, contingent on voter approval in a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion election. The bond would have a life of 20 years in which residents would see an increase of 16 cents per $1,000 of property value, according to town accountant Vicki Moro.
The total cost of the bridge replacement is estimated to be $2.6 million, and the town plans on leveraging a $1 million MassWorks grant with the loan for the project, according to the meeting’s warrant.
Luis Fieldman can be reached at lfieldman@gazettenet.com