The Board of Selectman (BOS) has voted to draft an ordinance banning the commercial cultivation and sales of cannabis in what is described as an effort to gauge public opinion regarding these businesses in town. According to First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons, the ad hoc Cannabis Commission formed in 2022 received little public input, and a draft proposal would give residents something to debate, providing officials with more information.

“A lot of us felt that we didn’t really know where the town stood on this issue. That there hadn’t been a lot of public participation… there just hasn’t been a lot of feedback from the public on this,” said Lyons. “The other thinking was having a draft ordinance to put out there into the public and see what their reaction is to that. With both of those, a survey and a public hearing might give us a better assessment of where the public might stand on this issue, and whether or not we want to just move an ordinance, whether or not we want to go some other pathway. We’re really just not sure where the public is on this.”

A public hearing to review the new draft ordinance has been scheduled for Monday, April 24, at 6:30 p.m. in Room A at the Town Campus, 8 Campus Drive, Madison. Attendees can also participate via Zoom. A link will be posted on the town website.

The Cannabis Commission narrowly voted to draft a ban, according to Chair Bruce Wilson. But Wilson said that was in an effort to draft an ordinance to put forward at a public meeting as a baseline for discussion and not necessarily the consensus of the board. However, most board members spoke out against both commercial cultivation and sales of cannabis and also seemed to lean against even medical cannabis dispensaries.

Wilson said it came down to community values, which he claimed don’t align with the commercialization of cannabis.

“The community has a pretty long history of being pretty discriminating about the types of businesses we have here in town. We noticeably don’t have a Costco in town or a Walmart or any other big box stores. We don’t have heavy industry in town, so on that basis, we know there are businesses that don’t fit in, and maybe this is one of them,” said Wilson. “For me, the reason was the family value nature of Madison. We are a very family-forward community with an active Youth and Family Services and a very robust school district, and we, in large part, exist in service of our children and the parents of those children. I just feel it’s a mixed message to send to the efforts of Youth and Family Services and the school district. ‘Hey, in spite of your consistent messaging to us that this is not a good thing in your opinion, we’re going to go ahead and allow these activities anyways.’ I very much see a ban as actually an affirmation of our commitment to Youth and Family Services and the school district and the families who have children in the district.”

Scott Murphy, the BOS liaison to MYFS, said he, too, had reservations about the message that cannabis sales and cultivation would send to the community.

“I sit on countless meetings about the challenges of substance abuse…and I tend to lean on the recommendations coming from Madison Youth and Family Services. It is pretty clear this becomes, whether we like it or not or agree with it or not, a gateway drug. I think we have to be thinking about that in a responsible way from a community standpoint. I am absolutely in favor of banning at this point,” said Murphy. “I just think we’ve got to be conscious of the message we are sending to the community…we just need to be consistent. We’ve got to be very smart about this, so I am in favor of banning.”

The specific section of the draft ordinance reads as follows:

“It shall be unlawful for any building, structure, or land anywhere within the Town of Madison to be used as a cannabis establishment, cannabis producer, cannabis dispensary facility, cannabis cultivator, cannabis micro-cultivator, cannabis retailer, cannabis hybrid retailer, cannabis food and beverage manufacturer, cannabis product manufacturer, or cannabis product packager. Violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of $250 per offense.”

The draft ordinance would still allow for nonmedical personal cultivation of cannabis for anyone over the age of 21, in accordance with the state law’s limit of three mature plants and three immature plants with a maximum cap of 12 plants per household. That specific cultivation provision of the law does not take effect until July 1. Currently, it is still illegal to cultivate marijuana plants until that date; medical growing is currently legal for anyone over 18 years of age.

There is also an exemption for the cultivation of commercial hemp, which though it is a species of cannabis, contains little THC. Commercial hemp is used in a wide array of products, from biofuel, auto parts, and textiles to personal health and beauty products.

A full copy of the draft ordinance is available at www.madisonct.org.