MEDICINAL CANNABIS TIME-OUT CALLED TO STUDY REGULATIONS

The Windsor Town Board unanimously passed a 75-day moratorium on
medical marijuana dispensaries on Wednesday night.

The vote, conducted during a special session, will act as a freeze on
the processing and opening of any new clinics while the moratorium is
in effect.

Two clinics, which were in operation before the moratorium came
before the board, will still be allowed to operate. They are In
Harmony Wellness, 4630 Royal Vista Circle, and A New Dawn Wellness
Clinic, 520 1/2 Main St.

During the moratorium, the town board will work on a policy to deal
with the booming new business. The first work session on the topic
will be a joint meeting with the planning commission on Monday night.
It will deal with zoning issues.

The board will also meet on Jan. 4 to discuss other topics associated
with the dispensaries with the intention to pass policy on first
reading during the Jan. 11 regular town board meeting.

I'm in favor of this," said Windsor Mayor Pro-Tem Richard Drake. "I
actually wish we could go back to square one and formulate policy
before anyone came to town, but I'll go with this."

This is the second time this week the town board has held a vote on a
moratorium for dispensaries.

During Monday night's regular town board meeting, the board passed an
emergency ordinance to impose a 75-day moratorium on dispensaries by
a 4-3 vote. However, the measure actually failed because ordinances
require a super majority, or a minimum of five votes, to pass.

The original ordinance would have only allowed In Harmony to remain
open, which was the sticking point for board members Robert
Bishop-Cotner, Jon Slater and Mayor John Vazquez.

I voted against the original ordinance to preserve the town's
integrity," Vazquez said. "We had entered into a verbal agreement
with a business (A New Dawn) and I felt an ordinance requiring a
shutdown was bad policy.

I was never opposed to a moratorium."

The reason Windsor Town Attorney Ian McCargar originally recommended
A New Dawn be shut down during the moratorium had to do with building
permit requirements.

The business is open and has a sales tax license but does not have a
building permit or approval by SAFEbuilt.

The new moratorium allows A New Dawn to operate but sets a Jan. 15
deadline to have in their building permit information.

Owner Greg Hatton said his business wants to be a good neighbor.

I may be in violation of the codes, but I didn't realize that,"
Hatton said. "We'll do whatever we need to do to be a part of this community."

Board member Nancy Weber told Hatton she'd received calls from area
business owners around Hatton's establishment with concerns.

They told me they can smell the marijuana," Weber said. "They also
told me they were being asked to solicit patients, that there is a
doctor on site who'll give out prescriptions."

Hatton said that was not true.

We do have a doctor on staff but he has a full examination process
that patients must go through," he said. "I'm not sure about the
smell, but I'm happy to put in a carbon filter to take care of it."

Windsor residents turned out in force on Wednesday and spoke to the
board about their support for the moratorium.

I have a lot of concerns about these businesses," said resident Paul
Steiner. "There have been many reports, and some in the last couple
of days, about burglaries of these establishments and shootings.

That's not what I want."

Steve Winter, another Windsor resident, said he didn't feel this was
fair to the Windsor Police Department.

This will only put more stress on the police," Winter said.

Debbi Waltman asked how many businesses were truly necessary to serve
a medical need.

I don't want to see you wait on this," Waltman said.

Kay Carpenter said she was not sure the town was prepared to deal
with the ramification of this new business type.

Medical marijuana is not effective and I'm against its use," she said.

Vernon Thomas, who hopes to bring Nature's Wellness into town, said
he is not necessarily opposed to the moratorium.

It's been a frustrating proposition to get our business open," Thomas
said. "I just hope to see diligent work to get these problems fixed."

Board member Matthew O'Neill told the residents that he felt the
board needed to deal with this issue and not wait for the state
legislature to enact solutions.

The state is planning to fast-track this issue, but my feeling is
that we were elected to deal with this now," he said.

Board member Jon Slater said he supported the moratorium.

I feel the modification made is an excellent compromise, and I
support this," Slater said.

Board member Robert Bishop-Cotner said he was in favor of the
moratorium because of the business owners who had spoken.

I heard almost half of the (eight) establishments coming to town say,
please give us rules," Bishop-Cotner said.

Weber said she felt the town absolutely needed the moratorium.

I struggle with exempting A New Dawn, but at the end of the day, I
won't compromise on whether we need a moratorium," she said.

Board member Michael Kelly agreed.

We need this timeout," he said.