Town of

AMHERST Massachusetts
TOWN HALL Department of Economic Development
4 Boltwood Avenue PH: (413) 259-3079
Amherst, MA 01002-2351 FX: (413) 259-2405
kravitzg@amherstma.gov

MEMORANDUM

To: Paul Bockelman, Town Manager

Cc:
From: Geoff Kravitz, Economic Development Director
Date: April 7, 2017
Re: Recreational Marijuana Strategy Proposal

INTRODUCTION

This memorandum will provide an update regarding the anticipated municipal cost of implementing the
recreational marijuana law, a brief overview of the requested issues that have been identified at legislative
hearings and informational forums, a recommendation about which issues the Town of Amherst should focus
on to provide the most value, and a proposal for how to proceed if the legislation remains as it is.

RESPONSE TO QUESTION ABOUT COSTS

At the hearing on March 27, Chair Jehlen asked why a 2% tax would not be sufficient and what additional
costs Amherst expected to incur because of the legalization of recreational marijuana. A large part of the
problem is that the size of the recreational marijuana market in Amherst is an unknown. Therefore we cant
determine whether 2% of that market is sufficient to cover our anticipated expenses. We also dont have a
complete understanding of what the impact will be, and therefor can only provide estimates as to additional
costs. It is primarily for these reasons that we couched our request in terms of flexibility to set an appropriate
local income tax that will ensure that municipalities can raise enough revenue to cover their costs.

Regardless, I have undertaken to estimate what our costs may be. Ive reached out to other Department
Heads and UMass to help inform this estimate. The process of refining these figures is ongoing, but
preliminary data from communities where recreational sales are legal suggests that Amherst will need two
additional police officers to conduct investigations into the gray and black markets, as well as issues related
to edibles including excessive and underage consumption. Additionally, the Town anticipates the need to
hire four additional emergency medical responders. The total cost for the six additional Town employees,
including benefits, is estimated at approximately $552,000 annually. In order for the 2% local option tax to
be sufficient for just this additional personnel, the recreational marijuana market in Amherst would need to
be $27,600,000.
However, we also want to be proactive in educating our residents about the law and appropriate marijuana
use. Those efforts will incur additional costs and I anticipate providing updates to this memorandum with
more information on those costs as it becomes available.

MAJOR ISSUES IDENTIFIED

Most of the testimony before the Joint Committee on Marijuana Policy has fallen into one of nine broad
categories:

1) Health concerns, including limitations on potency of plants and concentrates, the effect of marijuana
on the developing brain, health inspections for marijuana-infused edibles, packaging and products
aimed to attract youth, and the use of pesticides to treat marijuana plants;
2) Public safety concerns, especially with regard to a breathalyzer-like test for determining marijuana
intoxication;
3) Issues with the regulatory structure, including the makeup and appointing authorities of the Cannabis
Control Commission (CCC) and the Cannabis Advisory Board, as well as the fact that the
Department of Public Health regulates medical marijuana and the Treasurer regulates recreational
marijuana;
4) Concerns from communities that want to ban recreational marijuana establishments within their
borders;
5) Issues with the maximum number of marijuana plants allowed to be grown at home, and the
maximum amount of marijuana a person is allowed to possess.
6) Technical fixes aimed at clarifying ambiguous terms (such as area where a medical marijuana
treatment center is registered) and potential conflicts between provisions of the law (e.g. does a
temporary moratorium supersede the provision that prevents municipalities from prohibiting
recreational marijuana establishments in areas where medical dispensaries are located);
7) The need for more local control in the licensing process;
8) The lack of sufficient time to review regulations and craft zoning before the CCC begins accepting
applications; and
9) The sufficiency of the local option tax.

RECOMMENDED ADVOCACY STRATEGY

Each of the aforementioned issues is important, however, with limited resources it makes sense to focus our
efforts on those issues that are not being addressed by other stakeholders or do not directly affect the local
administration of the law. Therefore, I recommend that future communication, testimony, etc. concentrate on
numbers 6-9 above. Each of these issues will affect how we administer the law and we can effectively
represent similar municipalities that are not opposed to recreational sales in their communities.

Numbers 1-5 above either have effective advocates who can speak about the issues, or have a general impact
for all communities. Public health and safety concerns are being addressed by hospitals, doctors, public
safety officials, and District Attorneys. These are the most qualified people to speak about these issues and
answer specific questions. Concerns about the regulatory structure, which will have some effect on Amherst,
are more general in scope. Both the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) and Massachusetts Health
Officers Association are advocating for changes to the regulatory structure and although we may want to
support some of those changes, we can do so through the MMA. Amherst isnt particularly concerned with
the mechanism for banning all recreational sales, or with reducing the amount of home grown marijuana
plants or possession limits. If these are issues that it is important for Amherst to speak to, I would
recommend staff from appropriate departments be tasked with attending a weekly status meeting and
drafting communications related to their respective topics.
I recommend that Amherst concentrate exclusively on issues 6-9. The ability to make improvements in those
four areas will have a significant impact on the Towns ability to administer the law in a way that will
produce the best outcomes for our residents. Further, each of these issues has already been discussed in the
previous communications to the legislature. The more focused our advocacy, the deeper we can dive on each
issue, the stronger our arguments will be, and the greater our ability to effect change.

PROPOSAL FOR MUNICIPAL ACTIONS

If there are no changes to the legislation with respect to the timeline, the Town should be prepared to present
a package of articles at the 2017 Fall Town Meeting that address: 1) zoning for recreational marijuana
establishments; 2) adoption of 2% local option tax on the sale of recreational marijuana; 3) a temporary
moratorium on recreational marijuana establishments; 4) a limitation on the number of recreational
marijuana establishments; and 5) public health bylaws and regulations.