Rhode Island towns would have to vote to opt out under marijuana bill

Not every town is high on the idea of legalizing recreational marijuana for adults. But to opt out under the “Rhode Island Cannabis Act” introduced this week, towns would have to put the question on the ballot in November.

Take Middletown, for example. Last year, the Town Council passed an ordinance that prohibits marijuana stores, cultivation centers, and testing facilities, while allowing for the growing of medical marijuana by licensed patients and caregivers. The ordinance says marijuana-related businesses could have “secondary impacts” such as increased crime, decreased property values, traffic, and odor complaints.

“Every community is different, every council is different,” Middletown Town Council President Paul M. Rodrigues said Thursday. “We just didn’t want pot shops in town.”

But lawmakers say that decision would not be up to the Town Council, under the legislation introduced in the House and Senate on Tuesday.

Cities and towns would have to hold referendums in November asking voters if they want to opt out from the bills to legalize recreational marijuana for adults. The Nov. 8 ballot items would ask voters: “Shall cannabis licenses for businesses involved in the cultivation, manufacture, laboratory testing, and for the retail sale of adult recreational use cannabis be issued in the city (or town)?” [Read more art Boston Globe]