{"id":3421,"date":"2022-01-03T15:48:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-03T15:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMinQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5qb3VybmFsaW5xdWlyZXIuY29tL3Rvd25zL2JvbHRvbi9ib2x0b24tb3JkaW5hbmNlLXdvdWxkLWJhbi1jb25zdW1wdGlvbi1vZi1wb3QtYWxjb2hvbC1pbi1wYXJrcy9hcnRpY2xlXzk0MDU3ODZlLTZjYWMtMTFlYy05M2I2LTRmZmQ5MzBlZTZkMi5odG1s0gEA"},"modified":"2022-01-03T15:48:00","modified_gmt":"2022-01-03T15:48:00","slug":"bolton-ordinance-would-ban-consumption-of-pot-alcohol-in-parks-journal-inquirer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=3421","title":{"rendered":"Bolton ordinance would ban consumption of pot, alcohol in parks &#8211; Journal Inquirer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bolton-ordinance-would-ban-consumption-of-pot-alcohol-in-parks-journal-inquirer.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-preview\">\n<p>BOLTON \u2014 The Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing on Tuesday to consider a proposed ordinance that would ban cannabis possession and consumption on town property.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-preview\">\n<p>\u201cThe town of Bolton has a long history of safety of all of its citizens who want or desire to use town parks \u2026 and with the change in law in Connecticut, making marijuana possession legal, it meant the change or revisiting the ordinance for possession or consumption on town property,\u201d First Selectman Pamela Sawyer said. \u201cNow the decision was made to come forward and continue that history of prohibition on town properties.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<aside class=\"tncms-inline-relcontent tncms-inline-relcontent-fact tncms-inline-alignment-right tncms-inline-width-half\">\n<h4>IF YOU GO<\/h4>\n<p>The Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing on banning possession or consumption of cannabis and alcohol in town parks at 7 p.m. Tuesday on Zoom. To attend go to:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/555awpz7\">https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/555awpz7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Call-In Number: 1-929-205-6099<\/p>\n<p>Meeting ID: 832 7052 3597<\/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>The Marijuana and Alcohol Ordinance also prohibits drinking or possessing alcohol and carrying glass bottles of any kind on town beaches. Residents who violate the proposed ordinances face a $100 penalty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Board members had discussed a cannabis ordinance at its Sept. 7 regular meeting and unanimously voted to proceed with holding a public hearing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Since recreational pot use became legal for people age 21 or older in the state on July 1 numerous north-central Connecticut towns have considered zoning regulations regarding its sale and cultivation, including Manchester, which recently approved regulations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Bolton\u2019s Planning and Zoning Commission hasn\u2019t yet considered any regulations regarding cannabis sales or cultivation. Director of Community Development Patrice Carson said at a previous PZC meeting that cannabis shops would likely be treated like a liquor store, according to meeting minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Selectmen said the proposed ordinance, which they crafted prior to November\u2019s municipal election, is modeled on existing ordinances regarding alcohol and tobacco use on town property.<\/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>\u201cIf you\u2019re going to not allow smoking of cigarettes, how can you allow smoking of another substance, which is marijuana,\u201d Republican Selectman Robert Morra said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Morra said that board members tried to strike a balance between what the state allows and what the town desires for its citizens.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>\u201cNobody is trying to be an old Scrooge,\u201d Morra said. \u201cYou have to be realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Democratic Selectman Adam Teller said he is unsure about the part of the proposed ordinance that prohibits cannabis possession. Connecticut\u2019s cannabis bill prohibits penalties against the lawful possession of medical cannabis, and this ordinance probably conflicts with that, Teller said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Teller, who was not on the Board of Selectmen when the ordinance was crafted, said he would keep an open mind when listening to residents during Tuesday\u2019s public hearing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Bolton resident Letrisa Miller said cannabis consumption should be treated similarly to drinking alcohol on town property. Miller added that she\u2019s noticed a problem with people drinking alcohol, not consuming cannabis, on town property.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>\u201cAlcohol is just as much of an issue as any other mind-altering substance, so both should be treated the same,\u201d Miller said.<\/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>BOLTON \u2014 The Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing on Tuesday to consider a proposed ordinance that would ban cannabis possession and consumption on town property. \u201cThe town of Bolton has a long history of safety of all of its citizens who want or desire to use town parks \u2026 and with the change in law in Connecticut, making marijuana possession legal, it meant the change or revisiting the ordinance for possession or consumption on town property,\u201d First Selectman Pamela Sawyer said. \u201cNow the decision was made to come forward and continue that history of prohibition on town&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3422,"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-3421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bolton-ordinance-would-ban-consumption-of-pot-alcohol-in-parks-journal-inquirer.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3421","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=3421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}