Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The Attorney General's office says that while an outright ban on medical marijuana undermines the new law, placing a temporary ban until state regulations are decided or simply placing zoning restrictions on facilities are legal alternatives.
Mayor Ted Bettencourt, faced with the possibility of the city's new ban on medical marijuana dispensaries being struck down, says he's considering a moratorium instead until state health officials put regulations in place this spring. Attorney General Martha Coakley released a decision last week that found Wakefield's ban on medical marijuana in conflict with the state law approved by voters in November. Peabody's ban is very similar to Wakefield's. Coakley said cities and towns cannot enact outright bans, but rather limit such facilities to certain areas through zoning or impose a moratorium until regulations are in place. Bettencourt tells the Salem News the city's lawyers are reviewing the matter and the City Council may also revisit a …
Friday, March 15, 2013
Attorney General Martha Coakley finds that an outright zoning ban on medical marijuana facilities in a town conflicts with the purpose of the law.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Attorney General Martha Coakley finds that an outright zoning ban on medical marijuana facilities in a town conflicts with the purpose of the law.
Towns are not allowed to enact outright bans on marijuana treatment centers, so says Attorney General Martha Coakley in a decision issued Wednesday. On the face of it, while the decision wasn't targeted at Peabody, it does appear to invalidate the city's recent ban on medical marijuana facilities. Coakley says Massachusetts law now allows for such facilities, so they have a right to locate somewhere. Cities and towns could, however, draft zoning regulations to limit where a dispensary could operate. Coakley specifically weighed in on a zoning ban approved at Town Meeting in Wakefield in November, finding it conflicted with state law. "We find that such a ban would frustrate the purpose of [the law]...to allow qualifying patients, who have …
Friday, January 25, 2013
City officials sign off on zoning ban for medical marijuana facilities in hopes it will just discourage potential shop owners from considering sites in Peabody rather than go to court. State still has yet to develop rules and regulations.
It's official: no pot shops in Peabody. The City Council unanimously voted Thursday night to support a zoning ban on medicial marijuana growing and distribution facilities within the city limits. Mayor Ted Bettencourt has pushed for the local ban since shortly after voters approved the ballot question for medical marijuana in November. Bettencourt has said he has grave concerns about the new law and operation of such facilities and still has yet to receive any information or guidelines from the state, which will be regulating the pot shops. In light of those unknowns, he believes it's in the best interest of the city to prohibit such facilities altogether. He said understands the value of medical marijuana in certain cases, but believes it…
Friday, January 11, 2013
The City Council continued a public hearing Thursday on a zoning amendment to ban medical marijuana facilities in Peabody until Jan. 24. The delay is for the council to receive a necessary recommendation from the Planning Board first.
The City Council postponed its vote Thursday night on a ban of medical marijuana facilities in Peabody, but the outcome of the vote is all but assured. Councilors initially leant their support to Mayor Ted Bettencourt in November, agreeing to send the issue along to the Planning Board for a recommendation on a zoning amendment that would prohibit dispensaries or growing facilities from setting up shop anywhere in the city. The Planning Board voted Jan. 3 unanimously in support of a zoning ban, but the subsequent recommendation, which is needed for the council to act on, was too late to make it on for the council's Jan. 10 session. Bettencourt and councilors again briefly discussed their concerns Thursday night of medical marijuana, which …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The City Council and Planning Board will hold separate hearings in January to review a proposed ban on medical marijuana facilities in Peabody.
Despite the initial desire from Peabody city officials to act quickly on the matter before year end, a joint review of a proposed zoning ban on medical marijuana facilities between the City Council and Planning Board has been canceled and separate hearings will now be held in January. City Clerk Tim Spanos says the Planning Board hearing is scheduled for Jan. 3 and the council hearing is Jan. 10. "At the request of the mayor, the Dec. 27 joint hearing with the Planning Board on the medical marijuana zoning issue has been canceled. The mayor did not want to put councilors and Planning Board members out of their way so close to the holidays," Spanos said via email. The Planning Board will consider the proposed ban from Mayor Ted Bettencourt …
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Peabody is moving ahead with the intent to ban medical marijuana facilities from setting up shop in Peabody.
Mayor Ted Bettencourt is now one step closer to getting medical marijuana facilities banned in Peabody. City councilors agreed Tuesday night to move forward on a zoning amendment that would prohibit both dispensaries and growing facilities from operating anywhere in the city. The vote was not unanimous, however; only Ward 4 City Councilor Robert Driscoll opposed pursuing a ban because he feels it would be "premature" without having any details from the state on the governance and operation of these new facilities. "I don’t think it’s in the best interest of the city of Peabody to have medical marijuana at this time," Bettencourt said, noting the opposition from local health and police officials and listing off a number of concerns they all…
Bettencourt says new law is too vague. City is among several communities in Massachusetts now seeking bans on medical marijuana dispensaries.
Mayor Ted Bettencourt says he wants to make Peabody off-limits to medical marijuana dispensaries. In an interview with the Salem News, Bettencourt argued that the law passed by voters earlier this month is too vague and said he will ask the City Council Tuesday to ban the operations of medical marijuana treatment shops in the city. That's despite Peabody voters coming out in favor of the ballot question by a significant margin on Election Day -- 14,363 votes to 11,091. The council's Legal Affairs Committee is slated to discuss the issue Tuesday (6:45 p.m.) after Ward 5 City Councilor David Gamache asked his colleagues earlier this month to consider restricting where such facilities could be located in the city, similar to only allowing …
Friday, November 9, 2012
The medical marijuana ballot initiative passed on Tuesday, which means up to 35 medical marijuana dispensaries can open in 2013. Would you be OK with having one in town?
Medical marijuana is coming to Massachusetts. The question is: where? The medical marijana ballot initiative that passed in Tuesdays election with 63 percent voter approval means that up to 35 medical marijuana dispensaries can open up in the state in 2013. The new law goes into effect January 1, but requires rules and regulations be set up by the Department of Public Health. Some towns and cities, such as Quincy, reportedly are already trying to line up regulations that would keep dispensaries out of their municipalities, which have proved troublesome in some of the nine states where medical marijuana dispensaries have been legal. What do you think? Is this a classic case of NIMBY (fine, but Not In My Back Yard)? Or do medical marijuana…
City will investigate possibility of designating a zoning district to limit where a medical marijuana dispensary could go if Peabody were chosen as the site for Essex County.
Now that medicinal marijuana is legal, or least it will be as of Jan. 1, the next big question is where will the dispensaries go? Ward 5 City Councilor David Gamache would like to see some reasonable zoning restrictions for such facilities should they set up shop in Peabody. Gamache asked his colleagues to send the issue into subcommittee to review whether they could create a designated zoning district to limit where such a facility could be located, in the same way the council set aside an adult district on Route 1 for the Golden Bananas of the world. Gamache decided to take action after reading about a similar effort in Quincy. “I just want to be proactive,” said Gamache, arguing it would be in the city’s best interest to ensure a …
Concerned citizen
9:13 pm on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Boris you da man !!!! Fire it up bro.... Bonnie-Jean is just an old dried up "house Frau" :-) Relax Bonnie and smoke a joint.... more ›