Medical Marijuana Restrictions Proposed by Planning Department

As construed by Middletown's city planners, a newly-proposed anti-marijuana-sales zoning code amendment would forestall a proliferation of dispensaries in town, if state law changed to allow prescribed pot to be sold.

The code amendment will be debated by the Planning and Zoning Commission at their meeting Wednesday.

"If the state legalizes marijuana, and it just becomes a product, it could be sold anywhere," said Planning, Conservation and Development director Bill Warner.

In a brief prepared by Deputy Director Michiel Wackers, the planning department have developed a scenario based on the legalization of marijuana in neighboring Massachusetts and Rhode Island (along with the tax benefits therein), and the fact that only newsblog The Daily Beast named Middletown as one of the 40 "Most Pot Loving Communities" in the U.S.

"The most viable market to open a marijuana dispensary in the State exist in New Haven and Middletown,'' the planning department brief reads.  "Without any change to the Zoning Code, it could be argued that the sale of marijuana could be allowed as a retail use which is a permitted right use and does not need Planning and Zoning Commission approval."

Wackers and Warner cited the problems Los Angeles has faced after the California legalization of medical marijuana, when 1,000 dispensaries opened across the city in store fronts, residential neighborhoods and near parks and schools.

Middletown's planning department suggests that Middletown could have up to 12 medical dispensaries or "roughly the same number of package stores in Middletown."

Package stores are regulated by city zoning law which prohibits them from opening in locations too close to another package store.

The planning department is suggesting a code amendment which would designate the sale and or distribution of medical marijuana as a "prohibited use," and "prohibited accessory use," which would prevent the grandfathering of any potential dispensaries which would open in the case of a change in law at the state level.

The fact is that such a law has not been passed in Connecticut.

A law which legalized the use of medical marijuana by patients who needed it passed the State House and Senate two years ago, but was vetoed by Governor Jodi Rell.  It has not been taken up by the legislature since then.

"That law allowed individuals who needed it to grow it indoors," said an advocate for and user of medical marijuana advocate Mark Bronstein.  "There is no provision for the sale of medical marijuana.  In Rhode Island the state legislature designated only three dispensaries for the entire state.  One in Northern Rhode Island, one in the South Counties and one in central Rhode Island.  On July 1st applications will be accepted for those dispensaries."

Bronstein sustained a back injury in a diving accident and for years has used marijuana to ease painful leg spasms.  Bronstein is a college librarian, and the use of marijuana allows him to walk with crutches and braces.

"It's searing electrical pains if I don't use it," Bronstein said. "And my feet slip out of the braces, so I would be consigned to a wheelchair."

"I used to grow it," Bronstein admits.  "But the penalties for growing are stiffer than for buying, so I buy it now, even though I know it's a crime."

Bronstein also admits that he has suffered no harassment from police or his employers even though he has admitted to his use of marijuana publicly, and has testified frequently as state legislation has been considered.

Todd Ford also uses medical marijuana to dampen the acute and constant pain he feels in his right leg since he suffered traumatic brain injury in an car accident in 1987.  For 18 years he suffered pain without and medication, then tried prescription medicines for a very short interval before giving up on them because they were ineffective.  When a friend suggested marijuana, he did some research, and tried pot to relieve his suffering.  During the high, he found his pain disappeared, only to return when he came down.

"If I could keep my feet up and smoke whenever I needed it, the pain would be gone," Ford said.  "But I've got family responsibilities, and I simply can't afford it.  That stuff is expensive."

Ford said he has mixed feelings about the possible proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries and the approach Middletown is taking.

"I know what they're trying to do," Ford said.  "They don't want a bunch of places to open up and attract the wrong crowd, or make it easy for kids to get their hands on it.  But kids can get their hands on cigarettes and tobacco, and the worst and most addictive drugs are the legal drugs manufactured by pharmaceutical companies who are getting very rich because of it."

While the planning department sees the strict new code amendment as a way to a city which "has worked hard to foster a family friendly environment," it actually may draw attention to the effort and have unintended consequences.

"They're going to create a furor," Bronstein said.  "They're going to create something that will end up being counter-productive.  This is not the way to handle the problem, and the citizens of Middletown will likely work to revoke it."