NORTH ANDOVER — The Board of Selectmen will discuss whether to allow the sale of marijuana for recreational use Monday evening.
Phil DeCologero, chairman of the selectmen, said the board will not take a vote on the issue at that time.
Massachusetts voters approved the legalization of recreational pot last November. The Legislature delayed the opening of recreational pot shops until next July to amend the law approved by voters and to give cities and towns time to consider whether to regulate or ban commercial sales of the drug.
North Andover rejected the legalization of marijuana in the 2016 election 53 to 47 percent.
At least one member of the Board of Selectmen is unequivocally opposed to allowing the sale of marijuana in North Andover.
“The people of North Andover voted against the legalization of marijuana,” Selectman Rosemary Connelly Smedile said, referring to the local results of the 2016 election. “Our voters have spoken.”
Regarding Monday night’s discussion, DeCologero said he is “going in with an open mind.”
“I will be interested to hear what my colleagues have to say,” he added.
Selectman Richard Vaillancourt noted the annual Town Meeting voted in May to place a moratorium on marijuana sales until Nov. 30, 2018. He and his colleagues supported that decision.
Massachusetts Innovation Works has proposed the facility. The Planning Board has been working on revising the zoning bylaw’s language regarding marijuana sales.
“The board needs to act in a leadership role,” Vaillancourt said.
The board’s meeting will commence at 7 p.m. in the second-floor conference room of the Town Hall, 120 Main St.
credit:eagletribune.com