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04/17/2023 02:22 PMThe Old Saybrook Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) is mulling changes to its policies that would limit where people can and cannot smoke marijuana or vape cannabis products.
In 2021, Connecticut legislators passed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana use by adults in the state. As a result, local communities have had to update their policies regarding marijuana use. While most of the attention of municipalities has been focused on zoning issues related to cannabis use, there are other considerations to consider.
Over the last few months, the PRC has been looking to update its policy as it related to use on town property. Per the minutes of a Feb. 8 PRC meeting, “Currently, tobacco products are prohibited at all OSPR locations, with the exception of designated areas at Town Beach and Harvey’s Beach.”
At a meeting on April 12, the commission proposed changing the policy to also prohibit cannabis consumption and vaping products at PRC locations.
“The tobacco only will be allowed at designated areas at the beach as it has been,” Old Saybrook Parks and Recreation Department director Ray Allen said.
“We are simply updating the current [policy] to make the facilities as safe as possible for all to enjoy,” he added.
The commission is set to formally vote on that new policy at its meeting next month. The policy only applies to properties managed by the PRC. Allen said that there hadn’t been any complaints about pot use in the past, but the current policy needed to be updated to reflect the change of marijuana now being legal.
While the proposed update to the policy seems straightforward, marijuana regulations have been a source of controversy in Old Saybrook in the past. In February, the Zoning Commission approved an application from Fine Fettle Dispensary to open a retail marijuana store at 233 Boston Post Road.
Despite mostly receiving pushback against the application from the public, the commission voted 3-2 to approve the application. Later that month, a lawsuit was filed seeking to overturn that decision.
That lawsuit is ongoing.