{"id":146,"date":"2021-07-28T19:57:42","date_gmt":"2021-07-28T19:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm5ld3N0aW1lcy5jb20vbG9jYWwvYXJ0aWNsZS9EYW5idXJ5LWJhbnMtbWFyaWp1YW5hLWJ1c2luZXNzZXMtZm9yLTEteWVhci1idXQtMTYzNDY3MDcucGhw0gEA"},"modified":"2021-07-28T19:57:42","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T19:57:42","slug":"danbury-bans-marijuana-businesses-for-1-year-but-it-wont-stop-legal-weed-use-or-a-new-dispensary-danbury-news-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=146","title":{"rendered":"Danbury bans marijuana businesses for 1 year; but it won’t stop legal weed use or a new dispensary – Danbury News Times"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DANBURY \u2014 Zoning leaders passed a one-year ban on new marijuana businesses to give planners time to digest Connecticut\u2019s new adult cannabis law, but the moratorium won\u2019t stop legal weed use here or prevent a new medical marijuana dispensary from opening next month.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just don\u2019t know \u2014 that\u2019s the point of the moratorium,\u201d said City Council minority leader Paul Rotello, a Democrat, during a public hearing this week<\/a>. \u201cLet\u2019s approve (the temporary ban) and then let\u2019s have, among other things, a monetary study and give the people some insight as to what the true financials are going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Rotello was referring to a moratorium on new cannabis business applications that was unanimously passed by the Zoning Commission Wednesday over objections from residents and the medical marijuana dispensary that is moving from Bethel to a former bank on Danbury\u2019s west side<\/a> in mid-August.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis doesn\u2019t affect our medical marijuana dispensary, but it does affect us if we decide to apply for a hybrid license (to also sell retail marijuana),\u201d said Carl Tirella, general manager of Acreage Holdings<\/a>, which owns the Compassionate Care Center in Bethel and two other Connecticut dispensaries, during an interview on Wednesday. \u201cHopefully in the coming months we can work with the city\u2019s planning and zoning department to create regulations based on what we have seen across the country and the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Danbury\u2019s moratorium \u2014 the latest measure cities and towns are taking in reaction to Connecticut\u2019s July 1 law decriminalizing cannabis, won\u2019t affect an adult\u2019s right to have up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana with them, and up to 5 more ounces in a secure location, Tirella said during Wednesday\u2019s public hearing.<\/p>\n

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\u201cRecreational cannabis will be in Danbury whether there is an establishment selling it or not,\u201d Tirella said. \u201cNeighboring towns and cities will be selling it, and delivery (of recreational pot) is allowed through state regulations \u2014 both of which the city has no control over.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The point, Danbury leaders said during the hearing, was to give the city control over what marijuana establishments it wants to permit here, and where in the city those establishments would be permitted.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe text of the (state cannabis) act is 295 pages and covers a wide spectrum of topics related to the legalization of cannabis, including personal consumption, state licensing, workplace considerations, tenant and landlord rights, use in public spaces, police powers, and certain municipal responsibilities including zoning,\u201d Danbury Planning Director Sharon Calitro said during the public hearing. \u201cThis (moratorium) is in effect a kind of a pause button.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danbury residents called the city\u2019s moratorium short-sighted.<\/p>\n