Shelton on Wednesday became the second Valley municipality this week to call for a temporary ban on medical marijuana facilities.
The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously adopted a 9‑month moratorium so officials can review regulations adopted by the state Tuesday.
Not one Shelton resident spoke for or against the moratorium during a public hearing Wednesday.
Eleven people attended, four of whom were reporters.
The only person to weigh in on the moratorium at the hearing was Timothy Clancy, a self-identified “cannabis patient” from Stratford, who asked the commission whether they were trying to halt the production of medicinal marijuana statewide.
Commission members quickly assured him that was not the case.
Rick Schultz, an administrator in the city’s Planning and Zoning office, said the 9‑month moratorium will allow Shelton officials to develop regulations of their own regarding medicinal marijuana facilities.
“We’re not looking to reinvent what they’ve already done in Hartford. We just want to control the zoning aspect in the city of Shelton,” said Anthony Panico, a consultant for the commission.
But as Mayor Mark Lauretti pointed out during an interview Wednesday, by the time the moratorium ends the question of any new applicants will probably be moot, due to the small number of licenses — 10 at the most — that will be available under the state law approving medicinal marijuana, considered to be among the most restrictive in the nation.
“I don’t think it’s going to be an issue for us,” Lauretti said. “A limited number of permits are being issued by the state.”
Click here to read a CT News Junkie story about the state regulations.
Though no applications for such facilities have been filed in Shelton, Schultz has said interested growers have inquired at his office in the past.
The Shelton moratorium takes effect Sept. 3.
Click here to read the full language of the moratorium, from a legal notice announcing Wednesday’s hearing.
Ansonia’s Planning and Zoning Commission adopted a one-year moratorium on medical marijuana facilities Monday.
The only person to speak at Ansonia’s hearing on the subject was Alderwoman Joan Radin, who was in favor of the moratorium, and in television interviews said she doubted the medicinal effects of marijuana — though as the owner of a pharmacy, Radin couldn’t be expected to welcome competition in the painkiller-dispensing market with open arms.
Audio of Wednesday’s meeting is posted below.
