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Date: 9/22/2022
SOUTHWICK – Select Board member Jason Perron asked his fellow board members to revisit the issue of recreational cannabis dispensaries in Southwick four years after the town voted not to allow them.
Perron, who had said shortly after he won his election in May that he wanted the town to review the issue again, said that he wants Southwick to be able to take advantage of the local tax revenue that municipalities have been receiving from such stores. With a 3 percent local tax, the neighboring city of Westfield receives approximately $600,000 annually from Cannabis Connection, Perron said.
“I know that in 2018 it failed to pass. I feel that a lot of it comes from the misconceptions and misinformation that is out there,” said Perron. “People may think of Cheech and Chong and gangbangers, but as a Westfield [police] officer, we have seen no increase in crime. In some cases they are cleaner and more well-run than some doctor’s offices.”
He noted that $600,000 in tax revenue could have paid for a large portion of the Town Hall roof project.
“Maybe we should put it in front of the voters again,” said Perron.
Select Board member Douglas Moglin said he was open to exploring the issue again, given that it has been several years since the last vote and there are now real-life examples to draw from across the state. In Southwick, Moglin said, the issue is likely still hotly contested and is likely to make groups of people angry, no matter which direction things go.
“But you are going to have to take a look at it again,” said Moglin.
Select Board Chair Russell Fox said that the town could find ways to gauge public opinion on allowing recreational marijuana shops before a formal vote is cast. For example, he said the town could include a survey alongside the annual town census early next year.
“I think we need to get a gauge of where people are at and see whether they still feel they do not want it in Southwick,” said Fox.
Southwick also has the option of putting the question to a paper ballot on the town election in May, which could either be binding or non-binding, Fox said. It could also be put on the Annual Town Meeting warrant for this spring.
“We need to make sure everyone has the opportunity to weigh in on this,” said Fox.
Recreational cannabis use was legalized in Massachusetts via ballot initiative during the 2016 state election, and the first recreational dispensaries opened in the fall of 2018. Earlier that May, Southwick Town Meeting voters voted to bar recreational dispensaries from the town, but ultimately chose to allow cultivation facilities to grow cannabis in town, without any local retail sales.
Regardless of any local Southwick laws, state law allows for the private cultivation, possession and use of small quantities of cannabis, and for Southwick residents to purchase cannabis at dispensaries in other Massachusetts towns.