NEW MILFORD — As local officials weigh whether to permit recreational cannabis establishments in town, the police chief and town’s youth agency director cautioned they don’t yet know how cannabis sales would affect traffic, crime and young people.
“This is not to fearmonger or demonize adult-use cannabis but simply to protect youth here in New Milford and work with our local stakeholders in prevention and intervention efforts to ensure there are no concerning trends between the adult intended market and our youth here in Connecticut,” said Jason O’Connor, the executive director of the New Milford Youth Agency.
O’Connor spoke before the New Milford Town Council on Monday as part of ongoing discussions Recreational cannabis sales have been banned from town since January, when the Town Council imposed a moratorium to give the town more time to better understand the state’s legislation on recreational cannabis sales and learn what other states and towns are doing. The Town Council can revisit the year-long moratorium any time to either extend it or truncate it.
O’Connor said the state and the local municipalities do not yet have the data needed for New Milford to pursue retail cannabis sales or to ensure the safety of the town’s youth in regard to marijuana use. He said this information is necessary given “the direct influence marijuana has on a youth’s brain and a youth’s developmental maturation.”
“We’re not Massachusetts, Colorado, New York or any other state that has legalized adult-use cannabis,” O’Connor said, “but we are New Milford, Connecticut, and we can control, evaluate and assess actions that affect our community.”
Police Chief Spencer Cerruto said he also had concerns about traffic safety and crime. He suggested the town’s moratorium on recreational cannabis sales could give the town time to learn more about regulations, adding, “A year’s worth of data would be much more helpful than a few months of data.”
“Understanding our landscape is very important to us in law enforcement,” Cerruto said, “and a moratorium on this issue would give us that time to more methodically understand what’s going on in other communities that have allowed this.”
Mayor Pete Bass invited a cannabis legalization advocate to speak to the Town Council’s March 13 meeting about the benefits of allowing recreational cannabis sales in town. He said he invited Cerruto, O’Connor and representatives from New Milford Coalition for Awareness & New Beginning “to bring in the counter.”
“We believe in harm reduction, education and taking time to understand the data in the best interest of our community,” said Ivana Butera, co-chair of New Milford CAN.
Council members discussed concerns about drivers under the influence of cannabis and overdoses involved marijuana laced with fentanyl with Cerruto. Cerruto said the town had 20 overdoses last year — none of which involved marijuana laced with fentanyl.
“It’s legal now in Connecticut,” Councilwoman Hilary Ram said of recreational cannabis. “We’re all headed in that direction, so basically the conversation is how do we best prepare the town to protect our youth and to bring it about safely in the most carefully planned way… I feel a moratorium for a year will give us enough time to see what’s happening in other towns.”
H/T: www.ctinsider.com
