The Middletown Town Council is holding a public hearing Monday evening on a proposed zoning ordinance that would bar all retail marijuana stores and compassion centers, which sell medical marijuana.
The ordinance says the ban is meant to protect the “health, safety, and general welfare” of Middletown residents and cites disputed claims that marijuana-related businesses are associated with certain adverse impacts, including increased crime and decreased property values.
“The Town Council finds and determines, after careful consideration and evaluation of the potential adverse secondary impacts associated with Marijuana-Related Businesses, including compassion centers, and retail marijuana stores, that such land uses adversely affect the public health, safety, and welfare of the Town and its inhabitants,” the proposed ordinance reads.
The new rules would permit marijuana cultivation centers and marijuana testing providers in certain areas. The ordinance, which was approved by Middletown’s Planning Board earlier this year, would also allow medical patients and caregivers to grow marijuana.
Monday’s public hearing on marijuana sales comes after the Rhode Island Senate in June approved a bill that would legalize recreational cannabis for adults statewide. The state House of Representatives did not vote on the legislation, but lawmakers have said they may take up the issue during a special legislative session this fall.
There are currently no medical marijuana dispensaries located in Middletown. The nearest compassion center is in Portsmouth, just across the Middletown line. Two other medical cannabis facilities exist in Providence and Warwick.
Update: The Middletown Town Council unanimously voted to receive the proposed zoning ordinance Monday evening. Council President Paul Rodrigues said a second public hearing on the issue is scheduled for Tuesday, September 7.
Antonia Ayres-Brown is the Newport Bureau Reporter for The Public’s Radio. She can be reached at antonia@thepublicsradio.org
