CANNABIS ORDINANCE PASSES, ADDRESSES NUISANCE ODORS, BUFFER
ZONES

The Windsor Town Board, after seven months of work and wrangling,
passed a medical marijuana ordinance Monday night to regulate the
burgeoning industry.

The vote passed unanimously on second reading.

Windsor Town Attorney Ian McCargar said the final version was the same
as the one the town board approved on first reading except for two
items.

Those were the distance between marijuana facilities and the method of
measuring that distance. Originally, the town's ordinance had called
for a 1,000-foot buffer, but that was dropped to 500 feet at the last
work session.

Currently, the wording about measurement was either as the crow flies
or as the pedestrian walks, whichever is more restrictive.

"I'll agree to the 500-foot buffer, as long as we keep the wording
about the more restrictive measurement," said board member Kristie
Melendez.

Jon Slater agreed, saying he liked the compromise.

Board member Mike Carrigan asked about the issue of
smell.

"Have we taken care of the issue of odor from these places?" he
asked.

McCargar said he felt the code language already in place to deal with
nuisance odors was sufficient.

"If it becomes a problem, we can look at if further," he
said.

During the public hearing section of the ordinance, Derek Cumings, the
co-owner of In Harmony Wellness, one of two facilities operating
legally in town, voiced concern over the restrictive language.

"Due to the restrictions about buffers, we will not be able to have an
infused products facility, and that means my customers will lose their
edibles," Cumings said. "I'm begging you to reconsider."

Medical marijuana first became an issue last December, when the town
board learned that in addition to In Harmony, which had opened in
June, and A New Dawn Wellness Clinic, which opened earlier in
December, there were six other dispensaries in the process of opening
in Windsor.

The town board put a moratorium into place to prevent the opening of
other dispensaries while they began work on an ordinance. Work was
halted after a couple of work sessions to wait until after three new
board members Carrigan, Melendez and Don Thompson were seated in April.

Since then, the board held three more work sessions and approved the
ordinance on first reading July 12.

"I think this board has done a fantastic job on this issue," Slater
said. "I'm not saying it's perfect, but I think we've put in a lot of
time and effort to make it the best we can."