Thursday, May 9, 2013
The selectmen were in favor of a moratorium Tuesday evening.
Last Fall, Town Meeting voted for a zoning bylaw that prohibited medical marijuana dispensaries in town. However, Attorney General Martha Coakley did not approve the bylaw given that it conflicts with state law. The selectmen are now in favor of imposing a temporary moratorium for dispensaries. The Community Planning and Development Commission and Town Meeting will have to be in favor of the moratorium as well before it is finalized. After Coakley's decision to overturn the zoning bylaw, the town had four choices, according to Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner: Selectman Daniel Ensminger was not in favor of joining Wakefield in the appeal. "I would not want to see us join the law suit," he said. He was leaning toward the zoning …
Friday, March 15, 2013
Reading Town Meeting voted to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries from coming to town, but the Attorney General does not approve.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Martha Coakley ruled that towns in this state, including Reading, cannot ban medical marijuana dispensaries, according to BostonHerald.com. Towns can, however, use zoning rules to keep dispensaries in a certain area. Even though Reading voters supported the ballot question on election day by just under 60 percent, Reading Town Meeting voted 113-39 last November to prohibit any future medical marijuana treatment center from opening in town. The town will have to rethink that strategy. According to Wakefield Patch, Coakley ruled that a zoning ban on medical marijuana dispensaries approved at their Town Meeting last year conflicts with state law. "The (law's) legislative purpose could not be served if a …
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Town officials hope to strike balance between medical marijuana dispensaries and community safety.
With the passage of Question 3 last Tuesday, cities and towns are left to set regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries. Voters approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes, as prescribed by a doctor, by a 63 to 37 percent margin. With the approval comes the creation of marijuana dispensaries—"non-profit treatment centers that will grow, process and provide marijuana to patients or their caregivers," according to the Secretary of State. There are already state regulations built into Question 3, which require the dispensaries to apply and pay for a Department of Public Health registration, as well as submit operating procedures, including the mandatory storage of marijuana in locked facilities. Communities will also need to set …
Friday, November 9, 2012
The medical marijuana ballot initiative passed on Tuesday, which means up to 35 medical marijuana dispensaries can open in 2013. Would you be OK with having one in town?
Medical marijuana is coming to Massachusetts. The question is: where? The medical marijana ballot initiative that passed in Tuesdays election with 63 percent voter approval means that up to 35 medical marijuana dispensaries can open up in the state in 2013. The new law goes into effect January 1, but requires rules and regulations be set up by the Department of Public Health. Some towns and cities, such as Quincy, reportedly are already trying to line up regulations that would keep dispensaries out of their municipalities, which have proved troublesome in some of the nine states where medical marijuana dispensaries have been legal. What do you think? Is this a classic case of NIMBY (fine, but Not In My Back Yard)? Or do medical marijuana…
Friday, September 28, 2012
The governor, during a live chat with Patch, expressed skepticism about the legalization of medical marijuana, though he sympathized with patients in pain.
- ELECTIONS
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Friday, September 28, 2012
Governor Deval Patrick said he would likely vote no on Question Three this fall. During a Thursday live chat with Patch, a reader asked Patrick how he would vote on the ballot question and whether the governor was for or against the legalization of cannabis. "I am not too energized on this issue, personally. California's experience has been mixed. I will probably vote against it. I respect the opposing view, though, especially those whose concern is for people in constant pain," wrote the governor in response. Proponents say medical marijuana will help ease the pain and suffering of cancer patients and other eligible residents. Opponents, meanwhile, say the law is a back door to full legalization, and that medical marijuana can be …
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
A local nurse weighs in on medical marijuana dispensaries.
- NEWS
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Tuesday, September 18, 2012
I find the language of any warrant that prohibits the use of medical marijuana or its distribution both personally and professional offensive. To even put it in the same language that prohibits Adult Entertainment insulting. My father died of ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease, and my 28-year-old niece has MS, both disorders that medical marijuana has shown to be effective in reducing the pain of spasticity. As a Brigham and Women's RN working in both the MICU and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit I have dispensed synthetically prepared marijuana, also known as Dronabinol or Marinal, and can tell you first hand that it is not as effective as marijuana administrated by vapor. Marinal is only available in a pill form. If you known anyone suffering from the…
Friday, September 14, 2012
Reading, Wakefield and other local towns are trying to keep medical marijuana dispensaries out of the area.
On Election Day this year, Massachusetts voters will consider a ballot proposal that would allow medical marijuana sales in the state. While it remains to be seen if the measure will actually pass, some implications are already being weighed at the local level. Reading, Wakefield and Melrose Board of Health Director Ruth Clay was a guest speaker Tuesday at the Wakefield Rotary Club meeting to discuss a warrant article on Wakefield's fall town meeting ballot seeking to allow an organization to run a medical marijuana dispensary in town. Clay said that the state ballot initiative would allow five such operations in each Massachusetts county and that Wakefield came up as a potential location in good part because of its open town meeting law. …
Matt w.
8:22 pm on Thursday, May 9, 2013
"This town has millions" The town of Reading absolutely does not have "millions" to spend on a frivolous lawsuit that will almost certainly fail and will accomplish nothing in the long run. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts voted to approve "medical marijuana" including many people in Reading and it's residents must be willing to accept the consequences of that vote. As Michael stated many teens … more ›