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01/11/2016 11:00 PMGuilford residents in need of medical marijuana will have to continue to travel to Branford after the Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) came down in favor of a special application ban.
In a 5-2 vote on Jan. 6, the commission voted to amend the zoning code and add a section banning medical marijuana dispensaries and production facilities in town.
Members of the commission were divided initially over the moral and legal implications of a ban. Commissioner Joshua Hershman said he was unsure about banning medical marijuana that could help some residents. Commissioner Ray Bower also noted that the real fight is not with PZC.
“This is a small victory so to speak,” said Bower to supporters of the ban, who suggested a medical marijuana facility would increase illicit drug use by teens. “The issue you really have is with the state legislature...I think you will get more mileage there.”
While there was no immediate request to establish a dispensary in town, the group Guilford Development Assets for Youth (DAY) had been pushing for a preemptive ban. The program works to discourage young people from engaging in substance abuse and underage drinking, and teens affiliated with the program had appeared before the PZC to voice their opposition to the possibility of a dispensary here.
DAY Co-Chair Lisa Ott said she was very pleased with the outcome and that so many young people were involved in the process.
“I think the students here are really are finding that one person can make a difference and you don’t have to be a grownup to do that. I think that has been a terrific lesson for them,” she said.
Ott said DAY will continue to work in town to raise awareness about the issues surrounding marijuana.
“We are always moving forward, we are working on planning another DAY week and we are trying to get a meeting with the governor to work at the state level,” she said. “Our goal is to keep working to continue the collaboration that we are really starting to get going with all different sectors of the community.”
DAY Prevention Coordinator Dana Hilmer echoed Ott and said they would also be moving this conversation to the state level.
“Guilford Day is doing a big event on Feb. 10 at the Capitol,” she said. “It is a legislative event and the purpose of the event is to educate legislators on the facts of marijuana. It gives student leaders and adult leaders the chance to meet with their representatives and to give a chance to really hear the facts.”
Peter Ott, a freshman at Southern Connecticut University and former Guilford High School student, said he was also pleased with the level of student involvement.
“I think it was great that they made this decision and it was certainly a long process to get here and it was a lot of hard work,” he said. “It was worth the work and it sends a message to everyone in Guilford.”
Economic Development Coordinator Brian McGlone had previously spoken in favor of the ban and said he doesn’t see this decision having an economic impact.
“My job is to bring business, try to create employment and bring products and services in, try to increase the tax roll or the Grand List and frankly a business like this wouldn’t accomplish a lot of those things,” he said. “People who want to open those facilities will look at us and say, ‘That is not for Guilford.’”
Not everyone sees the decision as a win, however. Online commentary at Zip06.com has been largely critical of the prohibition, noting that the ban could add difficulty in filling prescriptions among people hard hit by disease.
“So, in other words, a bunch of uninformed people are trying to interfere with how people take their medicine,” Zip06.com reader Jacob Redmond wrote. “I get not wanting recreational marijuana stores, that’s a valid opinion a person can choose to have, but medical marijuana is a different story...Honestly, if they had epilepsy or cancer, they would be singing a different tune.”
Branford does have a licensed medical marijuana dispensary, Bluepoint Wellness CT, which sells medical marijuana in cartridges, “medibles,” and sublingual strips, along with accessories.