COURT HOUSE – Middle Township Committee May 3 unanimously adopted an ordinance banning the use of cannabis productsin public spaces.
Deputy Mayor Theron “Ike” Gandy equated the ban to similar restrictions on alcohol consumption or tobacco smoking in municipal buildings and public areas.
The ordinance is like others passed in municipalities across the county, as towns grapple with the impact of state statutes legalizing recreational cannabis use and the fast-approachingsummer.
Many towns wanted to cut the prospect of marijuana use on beaches, boardwalks, and other public spaces in advance of the influx that multiplies the county population six to eightfold each summer.
Middle, however, has not yet decided whether it will welcome recreational cannabis sales within its boundaries. The municipality openly supported plans for a medical marijuana dispensary, on Indian Trail Road.
The governing body passed a resolution supporting the license application of a Massachusetts firm that would develop the dispensary and an indoor farm for growing cannabis plants.
Mayor Timothy Donohue previously said the nature of state regulations may mean that Middle will join towns that enacted full bans on recreational cannabis product sales.
State law requires any municipal restrictions on the emerging cannabis industry to be in place by Aug. 22. After that date, restrictions can be eased, but not tightened, by governing bodies.
The long-term decision on whether to welcome a recreational retail sale location somewhere in the municipality remains open for discussion.
