North Adams, Massachusetts is putting together a working group to study retail pot.
In one of his first actions as North Adams Mayor, Tom Bernard told the city council that he’d form a 10-person working group made up of community development, school, police, city planning and zoning, and health officials to form a recreational marijuana strategy.
It was well received by the new city council. The previous council turned down then-Mayor Richard Alcombright’s proposal for a moratorium on retail pot.
A public hearing is scheduled for January 24th.
Meanwhile, there will be a special town meeting in Adams March 5th to approve a new recreational pot bylaw, which would require retailers to obtain a special permit to locate downtown.
State law requires dispensaries to be at least 500 feet from anywhere children regularly go. The bylaw would change that to 250 feet.
