Will Burlington Citizens Vote on Rescinding Recreational Cannabis Ban?

The Select Board will meet this evening ahead of Town Meeting to decide whether or not to take voters' temperature on undoing a ban on recreational cannabis sales that was instituted in 2017.

The question surfaced last year as a proposal to rescind the ban and add zoning for recreational cannabis sales was put forward by resident Will Seagaard and Town Meeting Member sponsor, Alex Rutfield. Seagaard, who works in the cannabis industry, asserts that the town could be bringing in more tax revenue marijuana sales were permitted. Marijuana is already in Burlington, he has said at numerous subcommittee and board meetings as he has made the rounds to get feedback and garner support for this proposal, and medical marijuana sales(which are not taxed locally) are already allowed statewide. It's just about whether or not Burlington wants a share of the tax revenue that could come with allowing recreational sales.

Opponents to the idea say the town has already spoken. The ban was put in place after a 2016 State wide vote in which 54% of Burlington voters said no to allowing recreational cannabis in Massachusetts. A state provision allowed towns and cities voting against the ballot question to institute their own local moratoriums. Another argument against allowing recreational cannabis sales is that many neighboring towns already have recreational dispensaries and it would not pose a great challenge for Burlington residents to travel a few minutes up the road.

Seagaard and others say It’s time to revisit the question, now that the state has had time to iron out the regulations. Many large building projects are on the horizon, and the town can use all the tax revenue it can get, said Town Meeting Member and former Select Board Member, Chris Hartling, at a recent Select Board meeting.

Seagaard and Rutfield have taken the approach of proposing Town Meeting Warrant Articles that would change the town's bylaws, rescinding the moratorium and adding zoning around the Middlesex Turnpike corridor where recreational facilities could be located. Since Town Meeting is the body that instituted the ban, and the 126 Town Meeting Members are elected to represent the citizens at large, Seagaard says he feels the Warrant Articles are the way to go. While the zoning article has been postponed until after Town Meeting, the general bylaw article is still up for discussion—for now.

But this evening, the Select Board will meet to decide whether or not they'll add a non-binding referendum question to this April's election ballot to poll voters at large. It was, after all, voters' opposition in 2016 that led to the ban in the first place. If that decision is made in the affirmative, whether or not Article 17 will remain up for debate is unclear. Seagaard says he'd prefer to leave it on so the body can have the discussion and see where Members stand.

Burlington's January 2025 Town Meeting begins on Monday, January 27, at 7:00 in the BHS auditorium. Official Town documentation includes the Warrant, the Warrant Backup, zoning detail, and the town and school budgets as a reference.