The Select Board has begun discussions on whether to revisit the town’s longstanding prohibition on non-medical marijuana sales, a policy originally approved by voters in 2017.
Select Board member Jack P. Richardson requested the agenda item to consider potential changes to the town’s stance on recreational marijuana.
“I am honestly approaching this from a revenue standpoint,” Richardson said at the board’s meeting Monday, April 13. “There is a key percentage that we are missing out on.”
State law allows cities and towns to collect a local tax of up to 3% on marijuana sales, giving municipalities a direct way to generate revenue from retail cannabis.
The state also allows (but limits) additional fees that towns can charge dispensaries through host community agreements. “Community impact fees” can be imposed but must be tied to real, measurable impacts caused by the business, such as increased public safety or infrastructure costs. Host communities are required to document these impacts and report the fees annually to the state’s Cannabis Control Commission.
“We are losing that tax revenue to nearby towns,” Richardson said.
The three other Upper Caper towns allow recreational sales.
For nearly a decade, Falmouth has upheld its prohibition on recreational marijuana businesses.
At the May 2017 Annual Town Election, voters approved a ballot measure, by a 4,533 to 2,514 margin, banning marijuana establishments not associated with medical use.
Town Meeting that year reinforced that decision by adopting a zoning bylaw under Article 16, prohibiting all marijuana-related businesses, including cultivators, manufacturers, testing facilities and retailers, except those licensed for medical purposes. The bylaw remains in effect today.
Any effort to allow recreational marijuana sales in Falmouth would require a two-step process: approval of a Town Meeting article to amend the zoning bylaw and a town-wide ballot vote to rescind the existing general bylaw, Assistant Town Manager Peter K. Johnson-Staub said.
Richardson Monday said attitudes toward marijuana have shifted significantly in recent years, citing changes in science and regulation, as well as political attitudes. He tells the board he has heard growing interest from residents and business owners.
Select Board chairman Robert P. Mascali expressed interest in reviewing financial data from communities that have allowed retail cannabis sales.
“It certainly has a potential for revenue. We’re revenue-strapped,” he said. While Mascali said he was personally hesitant to endorse retail sales, he understood the potential financial value to the downside and would support continuing a discussion on the matter.
Board member Colin Reed said the town should evaluate the issue from a business perspective, including how saturated the regional market may be and whether entering it would be worthwhile.
Vice chairwoman Heather M.H. Goldstone outlined what she described as three key considerations: revenue, community culture and public health. She said input from the town’s Substance Use Commission and Board of Health would be important before any decision is made.
Goldstone also stressed the need to involve residents if the issue moves forward.
“This was a very strong decision by the town,” she said, referring to the 2017 votes at the ballot and Town Meeting. “I do think that we want to really make sure we’re in step with the community as we pursue this and it can’t just be a revenue decision in my mind.”
The Select Board has not taken formal action but indicated that further discussion, data review and community input would be necessary before any proposal is brought to Town Meeting or voters.
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