http://www.vnews.com/news/townbytown/weathersfield/
Residents Want Town to Stop ‘Head Shops’
Monday, August 19, 2013
Weathersfield — Residents are taking proactive steps to keep their
community safe by proposing a local ordinance. A group of six women met
Thursday at Martin Memorial Hall to develop a town ordinance that will
prohibit future “head shops” where tobacco and drug paraphernalia are
sold and marijuana dispensaries where nonprofits are permitted to grow
marijuana for medical purposes. The women are stepping forward because
they say they want to …Residents Want Town to Stop ‘Head Shops’
http://www.vnews.com/news/townbytown/weathersfield/8119998-95/residents-want-town-to-stop-head-shops
Weathersfield — Residents are taking proactive steps to keep their community safe by proposing a local ordinance.
A group of six women met Thursday at Martin Memorial Hall to develop a town ordinance that will prohibit future “head shops” where tobacco and drug paraphernalia are sold and marijuana dispensaries where nonprofits are permitted to grow marijuana for medical purposes.
The women are stepping forward because they say they want to shape their own community and encourage economic development consistent with the town’s character.
“It’s our overall vision for a healthy, sustainable and vibrant community,” Melanie Sheehan of the Mount Ascutney Prevention Program said. “We want to promote positive economic development and Weathersfield’s historical beauty, not the proliferation of a drug culture.”
According to Sheehan, the two Weathersfield locations that sell tobacco and drug paraphernalia are a gas station on Route 131 and The Magic Mushroom on Route 5. While the group recognizes their right to conduct their business, they also want to prevent similar businesses from coming in.
According to local resident Cookie Shand, this isn’t the first time Weathersfield has dealt with controversial businesses.
“We fought (an adult drive-in) because we didn’t like the distinct name of ‘Smuttyville.’ We have a chance to change all that,” Shand said.
According to town and state officials, towns can exercise their right to prohibit head shops from operating. The sale of drug paraphernalia is restricted in Vermont according to state statute and a village ordinance tightens the law.
The state Legislature also passed a law last session that would allow four medicinal marijuana dispensaries to open across the state. The Department of Public Safety has approved two locations in Burlington and Waterbury. Dispensary operators must be a nonprofit organization, specify a proposed location, include security plans, and provide information on where they will grow marijuana.
Ludlow Village passed an ordinance of their own — similar to the Weathersfield proposal — last December which has not been legally challenged since, Sheehan said.
The ad hoc group will discuss a similar ordinance tonight at the Selectboard meeting and at a future planning commission meeting.
“I think the Magic Mushroom gave us a spark to get fired up, and people are talking about not the store but to get involved in shaping the community. They’re saying, ‘This is about what we want Weathersfield to look like,’ ” Sheehan said.
Shand agreed.
“It’s just that we’re looking down the road five to 10 years from now and we want to determine what kind of community do we want,” Shand said.
head shops and dispensaries are two different things. for one thing the license for a medical marijuana dispensary is $30,000 yearly and they are carefully monitored by the state oversight. cannabis is a plant that over 10,000 years has still yet to be as harmful as the pharmaceutical narcotics that are being pumped into the population.(unless you include the war of 1812 which was started because of disagreements over the hemp trade) people going to a dispensary aren't going there to party they go because they require relief from a chronic disease that a doctor has recommended cannabis for.
ReplyDeletethe only reason for hemp and cannabis prohibition is because it was poised to take over timber for the production of paper which did not sit well with those who had a stake in the logging industry so powerful industrialists lobbied to make it illegal so they could continue to make money.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_history_of_cannabis_in_the_United_States#Marijuana_Tax_Act_.281937.29
They may want to consider banning books that they deem "dangerous", as well...
ReplyDelete