DALTON, Mass. — The Planning Board last week questioned whether the state is requiring the town to adjust its cannabis bylaws if dispensaries, medical or retailer, and cultivation centers are only permitted by special permit.  

 

The town does not have any dispensaries and has only received a couple of inquiries over the years, which were not pursued aside from the initial phone contact. 

 

To comply with these new regulations, the town might have to change the clause in its bylaws to stipulate that it will only take applications from equitable businesses for the next three years.

 

Board members questioned the need to change its bylaws because there has been little interest in establishing cannabis in the town. 

 

"I don't think we have to do anything with this as long as we don't allow. If we don't allow any cannabis facilities in town, they're not permitted," Planner Zack McCain said during the meeting.  

 

If the state does not require it, the board can revisit changing the bylaw once someone interested in opening a business in town requests it, he said. 

 

The Cannabis Control Commission voted on May 9 to approve a number of regulations in an effort to make it easier for people harmed by marijuana prohibition and enforcement to enter the industry.