Zoners close hearing

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Commission to decide on medical marijuana regulations

PROSPECT — The Planning and Zoning Commission has closed the public hearing on proposed amendments regarding where a medical marijuana dispensary or production facility can be located in town.

The commission now has about two months to act on the amendments.

The state approved the use of medical marijuana in 2012. The commission placed a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries and production facilities about a year in order to discuss potential regulations.

“We’re being proactive on this, making our own decision on whether or not to include this in our zoning regulations,” Land Use Inspector William Donovan said.

The amendments define licensed medical marijuana dispensary and production facilities. The amendments also state where a dispensary or production facility can be located in town. A dispensary would be permitted in a business district, subject to a special permit. A production facility would be permitted in industrial 1 and industrial 2 zones, subject to a special permit.

A public hearing on the amendments from Nov. 4 was continued to Nov. 19.

Two residents spoke before the commission last week.

Donna Kruisman told the commission she is prescribed medical marijuana to treat a brain tumor that developed from severe Lyme disease and gets her prescription from a dispensary in Branford. She agrees with placing stipulations on where dispensaries or production facilities can set up shop.

While she is in favor of marijuana as a medicine, Kruisman said she’s against it as an abused substance. She added the state regulations help by controlling who can prescribe medical marijuana.

“You can’t go to your doctor and say, ‘I want to do medical marijuana.’ There are only certain licensed physicians you can go to,” Kruisman said. “You have to go to the state-approved doctors.”

Resident Sherri Cocchiola said she wasn’t against the regulations as much as she was against the idea of medical marijuana in general.

“Why would I want to say, ‘You are having problems with Lyme disease or … glaucoma? Take this marijuana and now we’ll give you cancer.’ Am I helping you,” Cocchiola said.

Cocchiola argued Connecticut is going to follow the same path as other states which started with medical marijuana and have now legalized recreational use of the drug.

If the amendments are approved an applicant would still have to obtain a special permit from the commission to open in town.

The commission would be able to ensure the business met all the standards set out by the town and the state, Donovan said.

“For example, in our regulations we talk about the definition of a production facility as being a secure indoor facility. I think it would be proper for this commission to question the applicant about that. Our regulations require your facility to be secure, tell us how you are making it secure,” Donovan said.

Commissioner Greg Ploski said even with the state regulations the town should decide on its own limits and let the applicants know before they even begin choosing a location.

“We set that in our regulations prior to a special permit so the individual submitting the application wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, I’m going to put it here,’ and go through the lease process and not know that it was not a viable location. Just like we do with the liquor stores,” Ploski said.

The commission had 65 days from the close of the hearing Nov. 19 to make a decision on the amendments.