WINDSOR POT VOTE THE RIGHT DECISION

Voters Need To Decide Once And For All On This Contentious
Issue

We sometimes think elected officials too often run to the ballot to
ask voters opinions rather than make the decisions we elected them to
make.

However, with contentious issues, such as medical marijuana
dispensaries, asking for voters to decide is probably the right move.

That's just what the Windsor Town Board decided last week. The board
voted 4-3 to ask residents to decide whether medical marijuana
dispensaries should be banned in the town.

A group of residents turned in a petition asking for the town to ban
medical marijuana dispensaries. They collected 300 more signatures
than they needed to get the measure on the ballot.

We appreciate that the board didn't fight residents on this, nor did
it go ahead and institute a ban based on the petition.

Views in Windsor have varied widely on whether medical marijuana
should be sold in the town. In a special election in April, residents
voted to limit the town to two licensed medical marijuana dispensaries
that were already in operation.

But that obviously didn't satisfy everyone. The town needs to decide
definitively whether or not it will ban medical marijuana dispensaries
and grow facilities in the town limits.

This ballot measure, if approved, would not stop medical marijuana
card holders from growing their own plants, which is allowed under
state law, nor would it stop them from using the substance.

We also hope, if this ballot issue is voted down, that Windsor
residents who strongly support a ban will let the issue die and be
satisfied with what voters decide.