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VILLAGE OF MINOA – The village of Minoa will pass local law that allows the municipality to refuse to allow dispensaries and marijuana consumption sites within its boundaries.
In turn, the village will hold mandatory referendums in its next ballot in March to let residents decide which route to take.
A first general feeling of public opinion could be gathered during the public session of September 7 which took place in the village hall of North Main Street.
Although the public hearing briefly turned heated, a cross section of opinions on the matter ended up being heard on Tuesday evening.
A resident said she expects traffic to dispensaries and cannabis consumption sites to then head to restaurants in the area due to the hunger pangs, an urge that would bring additional income to the village. .
She also said the out-of-state dispensaries she visited seemed “safe and secure” to her – a difference from seeing someone selling drugs around the corner.
On a related note, a self-described village resident said that a dispensary is unlikely to bring the proverbial man in a black trench coat to Minoa.
A former law enforcement officer who has lived in the village since 1999, however, said he believed the membership would attract a “pervasive criminal element”.
“We have a wonderful tradition here in this village, and I don’t want to see it tarnished or lost with the idea that we have to continue this progression of ‘well everyone is doing it’,” he said. .
He added that another reason he is “devilishly opposed” to this cannabis-friendly attitude is that he believes marijuana can serve as a gateway to the use of harder drugs like cocaine and heroin.
A few attendees shared in the Sept. 7 public hearing that the vote they would cast would be based on regulations passed by the state’s Cannabis Control Board, while other comments said the village should benefit. of the excise tax obtained through the distribution since people would choose to smoke marijuana whether or not dispensaries sprang up nearby.
“Marijuana is here to stay, and it’s legal,” said one man. “As long as it goes that way, we might as well go for. “
Referendums would allow residents to support or oppose dispensaries and designated on-site consumption on a separate basis.
If the village had left without making any cannabis-related decisions at the end of this year, it should have automatically enrolled without being able to later withdraw from the authorization of such establishments.
The results of the March 2022 vote will also determine who will be appointed to two open administrative positions and the village seat of justice.
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