Bans on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Incompatible With State Law

On Wednesday, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley ruled that cities and towns cannot ban medical marijuana dispensaries, according to BostonHerald.com.

Municipalities can, however, use zoning rules to keep dispensaries in a certain area, and that is a discussion that is expected to take place in Medford in the future.

According to Wakefield Patch, Coakley ruled that a zoning ban on medical marijuana dispensaries approved at their Town Meeting last year conflicts with state law.

"The (law's) legislative purpose could not be served if a municipality could prohibit treatment centers within its borders, for if one municipality could do so, presumably all could do so," Coakley wrote in her decision to reject the Wakefield bylaw.

In Medford, City Councilor Rick Caraviello said there hasn't been any formal discussion at the council or subcommittee level regarding medical marijuana dispensaries, but he suspects it will happen soon.

"We can't ban (dispensaries), but we can have a say on where they are," said Caraviello, who serves council subcommittees on licensing, zoning & ordinance and public safety.

Reading voted 113-39 last November to prohibit any future medical marijuana treatment center from opening in town.

Coakley did approve a bylaw adopted in Burlington that places a moratorium on dispensaries, according to BostonHerald.com, similar to the one recently proposed in North Reading that would temporarily prevent anyone from licensing a dispensary in town.