{"id":2907,"date":"2021-12-07T14:50:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T14:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMisAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5qb3VybmFsaW5xdWlyZXIuY29tL3Rvd25zL2VuZmllbGQvZW5maWVsZC1wb3QtYmFuLXJlcGVhbGVkLWNvdW5jaWwtZGVtcy1vdmVydHVybi1vcmRpbmFuY2Utb24tbWFyaWp1YW5hLWJ1c2luZXNzZXMvYXJ0aWNsZV82YzgzM2U4NC01NzA4LTExZWMtYmI2MC1lN2E5ZjEyYzQ0ZDMuaHRtbNIBAA"},"modified":"2021-12-07T14:50:00","modified_gmt":"2021-12-07T14:50:00","slug":"enfield-pot-ban-repealed-council-dems-overturn-ordinance-on-marijuana-businesses-journal-inquirer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=2907","title":{"rendered":"Enfield pot ban repealed: Council Dems overturn ordinance on marijuana businesses &#8211; Journal Inquirer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/enfield-pot-ban-repealed-council-dems-overturn-ordinance-on-marijuana-businesses-journal-inquirer.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-preview\">\n<p>ENFIELD \u2014 The new Democratic majority on the Town Council made good on a campaign promise Monday night and repealed a Republican-initiated ordinance that banned businesses from selling newly legal recreational marijuana in town.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-preview\">\n<p>During a meeting at Town Hall, six Democratic council members voted in favor of the repeal while three Republicans voted against it, in an effort to preserve the ban.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<aside class=\"tncms-inline-relcontent tncms-inline-relcontent-bio\">\n<h4>REVERSING THE BAN<\/h4>\n<p><strong>WHAT:<\/strong> The Democratic majority on the Enfield Town Council on Monday approved a resolution, in a 6-3 party line vote, that repealed the previous Republican-initiated ban on allowing recreational marijuana-selling businesses to operate in town.<\/p>\n<p><strong>STATE ACTION:<\/strong> Possession and the use of recreational marijuana for people age 21 and over became legal in Connecticut on July 1. The sale of recreational marijuana is expected to commence statewide sometime in late 2022.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tncms-region-ads-fixed-big-ad-top-asset\" class=\"tncms-region-ads\">\n<div id=\"blox-ad-position-fixed-big-ad-top-asset1\"> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Democratic Councilman Douglas Finger abstained from the vote while Republican Councilman Joseph Bosco was absent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Finger said he abstained because he wants residents to have a say in the decision.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not against it, I just want the people to have their voice back,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was my promise during my campaign. I want to keep my promise.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Possession and use of recreational marijuana for people age 21 and over became legal in the state on July 1, with the sale of cannabis expected to commence state-wide sometime in late 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>The repeal of the ordinance came after a nearly two-hour-long public hearing where about 20 residents spoke out, with an even mix of people in favor of the repeal and in opposition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Like the first public hearing on the matter on Sept. 7 \u2014 after which the then-Republican-led council approved the ban \u2014 residents on Monday who voiced their support for allowing the sale of recreational marijuana in town pointed out that the town would be losing out on revenue from those sales.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Residents who opposed having the town host cannabis businesses spoke about the dangers of marijuana use.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Several residents requested that the matter be solved via a referendum where townspeople would decide the matter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tncms-region-ads-fixed-big-ad-middle-asset\" class=\"tncms-region-ads\">\n<div id=\"blox-ad-position-fixed-big-ad-middle-asset1\"> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>However, that was debunked later in the meeting by Town Attorney James Tallberg, who explained that towns don\u2019t have the authority to do so and cited the legislation that made recreational marijuana legal in the state.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Much like the September public hearing, Monday\u2019s featured an array of comments directed at the legalization of recreational marijuana rather than if businesses should be allowed to sell and grow it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Prior to the council vote, Deputy Mayor Gina Cekala, a Democrat, responded to those types of comments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>\u201cThis is not a debate about the legalization of marijuana and if it should or shouldn\u2019t be legalized. That ship has sailed,\u201d Cekala said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>She added that the issue is about if the town should rescind a ban put in place three months ago against any and all cannabis establishments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Newly elected Councilwoman Marie Pyznar, a Republican, explained why she voted to preserve the ban.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>\u201cI just think there are a lot of unknowns with recreational (marijuana) and I don\u2019t think at this time Enfield is the right place for it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Ken Nelson, chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, said Monday in an interview that the next likely step would be for the town \u2014 via the PZC \u2014 to develop guidelines related to the operation of cannabis establishments in town.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Nelson said there is currently no language in place that relates to it, but he also suggested the town might wait until the new year to craft guidelines since three PZC members\u2019 terms are expiring as of Dec. 31, including his.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>\u201cWhatever direction the town chooses to go in, that\u2019s obviously the direction we\u2019ll take,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Mayor Bob Cressotti, a Democrat, said last week that some council members plan to travel to businesses in Massachusetts \u2014 a state that approved recreational marijuana in 2016 \u2014 in an effort to learn more about the retail cannabis industry before it gets underway in town.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tncms-region-ads-fixed-big-ad-bottom-asset\" class=\"tncms-region-ads\">\n<div id=\"blox-ad-position-fixed-big-ad-bottom-asset1\"> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ENFIELD \u2014 The new Democratic majority on the Town Council made good on a campaign promise Monday night and repealed a Republican-initiated ordinance that banned businesses from selling newly legal recreational marijuana in town. During a meeting at Town Hall, six Democratic council members voted in favor of the repeal while three Republicans voted against it, in an effort to preserve the ban. REVERSING THE BAN WHAT: The Democratic majority on the Enfield Town Council on Monday approved a resolution, in a 6-3 party line vote, that repealed the previous Republican-initiated ban on allowing recreational marijuana-selling businesses to operate in&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/enfield-pot-ban-repealed-council-dems-overturn-ordinance-on-marijuana-businesses-journal-inquirer.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}