Recreational Marijuana Amendment Approved In Woburn By City Council Vote

WOBURN, MA — Woburn is now one step closer to having recreational marijuana dispensaries within its borders following a City Council vote last week.

The council acted on a proposed zoning amendment to allow dispensaries in a small district in Woburn near the city’s borders with Reading and Wilmington.

Split along a 7-2 final vote, the council approved the amendment to effectively reverse a ban on local dispensaries that the city enacted in the wake of statewide marijuana legalization in 2016.

“This has been a real tough one,” City Councilor Jeffrey Dillon said prior to the vote. “This has kept a lot of us up at night.”

“I know that each and every one of us makes this vote worrying about the future of Woburn and the betterment of Woburn,” he continued. “It’s not taken lightly.”

Massachusetts legalized marijuana in 2016 via a ballot question. While the “yes” vote carried statewide, Woburn voters rejected legalization by a 50.6% to 49.4% margin.

As the state moved to set up regulatory infrastructure governing the legal sale of marijuana, it left an option for communities opposed to legalization to opt out of dispensaries in their borders.

Recreational marijuana consumption did became legal in Woburn alongside other Massachusetts municipalities. But the city also chose to indeed opt out of local recreational dispensaries.

Nearly six years after statewide legalization, Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin said last week that he felt the city did the right thing in choosing to initially ban dispensaries.

With few issues in recent years, though, and with legal marijuana sales already going on in communities around Woburn, Galvin said “the time is right” for the city to change course.

Galvin pitched the rezoning plan to allow dispensaries earlier this year. The plan will allow up to two dispensaries in an existing industrial zoning district around Commerce Way.

READ: Woburn City Council Continues Discussion On Marijuana Proposals

The number of allowed dispensaries is set by state law and indexed to the number of liquor licenses allotted to Woburn.

The plan drew widespread support and opposition, with speakers for and against recreational dispensaries arguing for and against a “yes” vote in multiple meetings with the City Council.

Within the council itself, councilors Joanne Campbell and Richard Gately Jr. remained opposed to the change on Tuesday of last week.

Campbell cited concerns about a process that she said could lead to more dispensaries in Woburn beyond the two currently envisioned. She also highlighted concerns about children gaining access to marijuana products.

“Let us not make money on the backs of our children, because that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Campbell said.

Gately Jr. noted that his son died earlier this year after using marijuana laced with other substances. Gately Jr. said he was opposed to opening the door to dispensaries in Woburn.

“Bringing recreational (marijuana) into the city, I think, is a big mistake,” he said.

New dispensaries in Woburn would bring tax revenue back to the city, sending proceeds from a 3% tax on all marijuana sales into city coffers.

Supporters of the new zoning amendment acknowledged that revenue and highlighted the existing ease of access to dispensaries within miles of Woburn.

“We’re not going to prevent anybody from Woburn from acquiring marijuana should they choose to,” Woburn Police Chief Robert Rufo said.

Where some including Gately Jr. opposed local recreational dispensaries, multiple councilors highlighted benefits of the heavily-monitored legal marijuana market, where they said regulation could actually cut down on deaths or other incidents related to unregulated marijuana products that are cut with other substances.

Dillon spoke directly to Gately Jr.

"You and I, unfortunately, share the same club that we both lost our sons within 24 hours," he said. "I have great respect for you, always look for your direction. On this particular case, I have to go against what your thoughts are."

Dillon drew parallels to the prohibition era in the U.S. and deaths in those days due to bad alcohol distributed through underground markets.

Education, outreach and regulation, Dillon said, could help promote safety in the present day.

Rufo reiterated previous support for dispensaries in Woburn last week, noting a variety of hurdles mandated under state law that aim to keep people under the age of 21 from accessing recreational marijuana dispensaries.

These locations require individuals to show their IDs before entering beyond initial vestibules, among other things.

Multiple councilors cited Rufo’s backing as being influential in their eventual “yes” votes. They also compared a higher level of regulation in place for recreational dispensaries to regulations in place for liquor stores.

“We all know people that have made bad decisions after utilizing too much alcohol. But I don’t see anybody showing up to argue against having any additional liquor licenses come into Woburn,” Councilor Joseph Demers said.

Where some noted the prospect of children getting into supplies of marijuana products in the home, Councilor Darlene Mercer-Bruen said that "parents have some responsibility here too." She said individuals who buy marijuana products should be sure to lock the substances out of reach of children when not in use.

Where opponents to this move, likewise, cited concerns about marijuana as a gateway drug to other substances, Councilor Charles Viola discussed his experience working with people who are incarcerated on drug charges.

The majority, he said, escalated to use of drugs like heroin after first using prescription opiates, rather than marijuana.

The City Council moved forward with a vote, approving the amendment over votes in opposition from Campbell and Gately Jr.

While now OK'd, this zoning amendment does not immediately clear the way for any specific recreational marijuana dispensaries in Woburn.

Businesses will need to go through a state and local regulatory process that will require special permit approval from the city. The process will apply to businesses both looking to open a new facility in Woburn or, in the case of the currently-operational Sanctuary Woburn medical marijuana dispensary, add a recreational use component.

Sanctuary, which is located within the zoning district that is now open for recreational marijuana dispensaries, has been floated as a likely candidate for one of the city’s new recreational licenses.