You will still be able to smoke it, grow it and carry it around, but if the ballot question approved by selectmen this week is approved in the May 20 town election, you won’t be able to buy it in Plymouth.Wicked Local reports the recreational marijuana referendum state voters approved last year established a number of potential options for towns, but it aslo left a lot of unanswered question as to how Massachusetts communities could or should proceed.To clarify those issues, Secretary of State William F. Galvin co-authored a bill – which is still winding its way through the State House – that offered three specific ballot questions towns can put before voters to limit recreational marijuana.Those options, as interpreted by Brendan Dutch from state Sen. Vinny deMacedo’s office, were presented to the selectmen as part of a discussion Tuesday night.But deMacedo, who was also at the meeting, offered ballot-question language that would ban sales of marijuana other than medical marijuana.DeMacedo told selectmen that it was all about local control.“If we do nothing as a community, these facilities will come in and we will have no control,” deMacedo said.Were the ballot question to fail to get majority approval in the town election, Plymouth would have to allow retail marijuana sales.The next step would involve zoning or bylaw changes to determine where and how retailers could operate in Plymouth. Those issues would be considered at town meeting in the fall.

You will still be able to smoke it, grow it and carry it around, but if the ballot question approved by selectmen this week is approved in the May 20 town election, you won’t be able to buy it in Plymouth.

Wicked Local reports the recreational marijuana referendum state voters approved last year established a number of potential options for towns, but it aslo left a lot of unanswered question as to how Massachusetts communities could or should proceed.


To clarify those issues, Secretary of State William F. Galvin co-authored a bill – which is still winding its way through the State House – that offered three specific ballot questions towns can put before voters to limit recreational marijuana.

Those options, as interpreted by Brendan Dutch from state Sen. Vinny deMacedo’s office, were presented to the selectmen as part of a discussion Tuesday night.

But deMacedo, who was also at the meeting, offered ballot-question language that would ban sales of marijuana other than medical marijuana.

DeMacedo told selectmen that it was all about local control.

“If we do nothing as a community, these facilities will come in and we will have no control,” deMacedo said.

Were the ballot question to fail to get majority approval in the town election, Plymouth would have to allow retail marijuana sales.

The next step would involve zoning or bylaw changes to determine where and how retailers could operate in Plymouth. Those issues would be considered at town meeting in the fall.