Retail cannabis issues get airing | Local News

BELLOWS FALLS — Even if Rockingham voters approve letting retail cannabis operations open in the town, there is no guarantee such a store will open.

Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, told those attending a forum on retail cannabis Wednesday night in the Town Hall lower theater that any business people wanting to open a retail shop will have to go through state licensing, as well as the normal financial and local zoning review.

White said that so far three Windham County towns have voted to allow retail cannabis in their borders: Brattleboro, Jamaica and Londonderry. Four more are taking it up at Town Meeting: Rockingham, Putney, Vernon and Wilmington. Rockingham is voting on the issue on March 1.

White said that unless a town has adopted a local option sales tax, it cannot directly benefit from the cannabis sales at a retail shop.

Cannabis sales are subject to the state’s 6 percent sales tax, in addition to a special 14 percent special excise tax. And much of the money from the excise tax will go to prevention, education and treatment programs, she said, and the actual administration of the cannabis retail program.

White said she had introduced legislation that would share some of that 14 percent excise tax with the local communities, but she said she wasn’t optimistic since there doesn’t seem to be support for that on the House Ways and Means Committee. They don’t like to share state revenue, White said.

One persistent question raised during the forum was how close any retail operation could be to one of the town’s schools. According to the Vermont Cannabis Control Board, no retail operation can be closer that 500 feet “walking distance” to the school. The board gave towns the option to increase it to 1,000 feet, and towns also have the option of creating a local cannabis control commission.

Laura Schairbaum of Greater Falls Connections, a youth advocacy organization, said much of downtown Bellows Falls appears to be within 500 feet of the Bellows Falls Middle School. She said her organization favors a one-mile distance between retail stores and schools.

Schairbaum and other youth advocates praised the restrictions placed on advertising retail cannabis stores, as well as the ban on anyone under the age of 21 either working in such a shop or even entering it.

The forum, which was co-sponsored by the town, FACT-TV, and local child protection groups, was designed for the exchange of information, and was not a debate, said Mike Smith of FACT-TV, and one of the co-hosts of the forum.

At one point, longtime Bellows Falls resident and marijuana smoker Paul Reis protested that he wasn’t allowed to speak in support of cannabis, saying it had helped him immensely with his post traumatic stress disorder.

But when Smith said the forum was for the exchange of information, not opinions, Reis stormed out.

Deb Witkus of Greater Falls Connection had spoken earlier about the danger cannabis poses to the developing brain, but she acknowledged that mainstream health organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that marijuana was effective for people suffering from PTSD.

Deb Fox of Bellows Falls, who runs a cannabis tour called VT420 Tours, said that tourism is a big part of the Vermont economy, and she said that people who take her tours, “are just looking for something to do.”

She predicted that retail cannabis would increase tourism to Vermont. And she said when growing operations get underway, there would be many well-paying jobs created, with an average wage of $30 an hour.

The state of Maine, and the city of Portland, are already taking advantage of their cannabis retail laws, she said.

Schairbaum, Witkus and Julie Tracy, a licensed social worker with the Brattleboro Retreat, all said that smoking cannabis at a young age can have lasting effects. “We all care about our kids,” said Schairbaum.

Tracy said that 80 percent of young people can experiment with cannabis and walk away, while the remaining 20 percent, through a variety of factors, can become addicted or have lasting psychological effects.

Marijuana psychosis does exist, Tracy said. But if a child comes from a loving, supportive family or community, and doesn’t suffer from illness or poverty, marijuana doesn’t gain control of their life.

Ten to 20 percent of all children may development substance abuse disorder in their adulthood, as a result of youthful exposure, she said.

Those particularly at risk, she said, are those with a genetic pre-disposition, as well as those suffering from some kind of trauma, family problems or identity issues, she said. They use cannabis to cope with feelings of depression and anxiety, she said.

Youth as young as 13 or 14 can experience changes in their brain development, she said.