The Windsor Town Board, after seven months of work and wrangling, passed a medical marijuana ordinance on Monday night to regulate the burgeoning industry.
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The vote passed unanimously on second reading.
Windsor Town Attorney Ian McCargar said the final version was the same as the one the town board approved on first reading except for two items.
Those were the distance between marijuana facilities and the method of measuring that distance. Originally, the town's ordinance had called for a 1,000-foot buffer, but that was dropped to 500 feet at the last work session.
Currently, the wording about measurement was either as the crow flies or as the pedestrian walks, whichever is more restrictive.
"I'll agree to the 500-foot buffer, as long as we keep the wording about the more restrictive measurement," said board member Kristie Melendez.
Jon Slater agreed, saying he liked the compromise.
Board member Mike Carrigan asked about the issue of smell.
"Have we taken care of the issue of odor from these places?" he asked.
McCargar said he felt the code language already in place to deal with nuisance odors was sufficient.
"If it becomes a problem, we can look at if further," he said.
During the public hearing section of the ordinance, Derek Cumings, the co-owner of In Harmony Wellness, one of two facilities operating legally in town, voiced concern over the restrictive language.
"Due to the restrictions about buffers, we will not be able to have an infused products facility, and that means my customers will lose their edibles," Cumings said. "I'm begging you to reconsider."
Medical marijuana first became an issue last December, when the town board learned that in addition to In Harmony, which had opened in June, and A New Dawn Wellness Clinic, which opened earlier in December, there were six other dispensaries in the process of opening in Windsor.
The town board put a moratorium into place to prevent the opening of other dispensaries while they began work on an ordinance. Work was halted after a couple of work sessions to wait until after three new board members — Carrigan, Melendez and Don Thompson — were seated in April.
Since then, the board held three more work sessions and approved the ordinance on first reading July 12.
"I think this board has done a fantastic job on this issue," Slater said. "I'm not saying it's perfect, but I think we've put in a lot of time and effort to make it the best we can."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: WindsorBeacon.com
Author: Ashley Keesis-Wood
Copyright: 2010 WindsorBeacon.com
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
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The vote passed unanimously on second reading.
Windsor Town Attorney Ian McCargar said the final version was the same as the one the town board approved on first reading except for two items.
Those were the distance between marijuana facilities and the method of measuring that distance. Originally, the town's ordinance had called for a 1,000-foot buffer, but that was dropped to 500 feet at the last work session.
Currently, the wording about measurement was either as the crow flies or as the pedestrian walks, whichever is more restrictive.
"I'll agree to the 500-foot buffer, as long as we keep the wording about the more restrictive measurement," said board member Kristie Melendez.
Jon Slater agreed, saying he liked the compromise.
Board member Mike Carrigan asked about the issue of smell.
"Have we taken care of the issue of odor from these places?" he asked.
McCargar said he felt the code language already in place to deal with nuisance odors was sufficient.
"If it becomes a problem, we can look at if further," he said.
During the public hearing section of the ordinance, Derek Cumings, the co-owner of In Harmony Wellness, one of two facilities operating legally in town, voiced concern over the restrictive language.
"Due to the restrictions about buffers, we will not be able to have an infused products facility, and that means my customers will lose their edibles," Cumings said. "I'm begging you to reconsider."
Medical marijuana first became an issue last December, when the town board learned that in addition to In Harmony, which had opened in June, and A New Dawn Wellness Clinic, which opened earlier in December, there were six other dispensaries in the process of opening in Windsor.
The town board put a moratorium into place to prevent the opening of other dispensaries while they began work on an ordinance. Work was halted after a couple of work sessions to wait until after three new board members — Carrigan, Melendez and Don Thompson — were seated in April.
Since then, the board held three more work sessions and approved the ordinance on first reading July 12.
"I think this board has done a fantastic job on this issue," Slater said. "I'm not saying it's perfect, but I think we've put in a lot of time and effort to make it the best we can."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: WindsorBeacon.com
Author: Ashley Keesis-Wood
Copyright: 2010 WindsorBeacon.com
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
