Medical Marijuana Moratorium Passes in Braintree

The Braintree Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to institute a one-year moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries.

The ordinance, submitted by Mayor Joseph Sullivan, blocks the dispensaries from coming to Braintree while local officials use finalized state guidelines to create new zoning regulations.


The moratorium takes effect on passage of the law, which officially occurs 10 days after the council vote.

Sullivan said in an interview prior to Tuesday's meeting that he put forward the moratorium to give the town time to see how dispensaries are received in communities like Quincy and Norwell that appear to be readily accepting them.

Braintree, as an economic center of the South Shore, is likely to be an attractive location for medical marijuana distributors, Chief of Staff and Operations Peter Morin said Tuesday night.

"How they will play out and work is still relatively uncertain," Morin said.

Zoning changes could be implemented to create a place for a center in the Granite Street corridor, but after the town has worked so hard to create a family-friendly environment, it should take the year to see what happens elsewhere, Sullivan said.

"My preference is to take a pause on it," he said. "There's a lot of unknowns."

It is a tact that many cities and towns in Massachusetts are taking after voters approved legalizing medical marijuana 63 percent to 37 percent last fall. 

Braintree officials worked with the Attorney General's office and examined other communities' successful and unsuccessful efforts to keep out dispensaries or delay their implementation.

The state Department of Public Health issued regulations for the dispensaries earlier this year. They include rules on the amount of financing applicants must have, how they can label the marijuana, and security considerations.

District 6 Councilor Paul "Dan" Clifford said he would push back against any dispensary owner that seeks to open a location in Braintree once the moratorium ends. He said there would likely be an increase in crime along with dispensaries and that marijuana is undoubtedly a "gateway drug."

"I would oppose it vehemently, to the best of my ability," Clifford said.

District 2 Councilor John Mullaney said he disagreed with Clifford on the merits of medical marijuana, but that he supported the moratorium because dispensaries likely to open in Quincy and elsewhere in the region will be able to serve Braintree residents with appropriate medical conditions. 

The DPH has said that it could approve up to 35 dispensaries statewide by January. No more than five can open per county. Norfolk County received 12 applications in the first round of vetting, though applicants can switch counties as the process moves forward.