STAMFORD – Residents concerned about children and increased traffic near a proposed recreational marijuana dispensary were overshadowed by general protests against state marijuana legalization on Monday.
Last month, the city’s Planning Board narrowly voted to allow a hybrid medical-recreational marijuana dispensary, Sweetspot, to operate at 111 High Ridge Road – a shopping center which houses liquor stores, hair salons and weight-loss centers, in addition to a tutoring center, a video game coding center for children and a pediatric urgent care.
For more than three hours on Monday night, residents discussed the third potential recreational dispensary in Stamford at the virtual Zoning Board meeting. And many pushed back against the state’s recent legalization of adult marijuana use altogether.
“Marijuana is still federally illegal and we don’t want it around our children,” resident Paul Arvoy said at the hearing.
Some used their allotted three minutes to share personal stories about family members who slipped into opioid addictions after trying marijuana, or to caution against consequences for the community down the road.
But Sweetspot founders and staff reminded attendees that the point of the hearing was not to debate adult marijuana use, but to consider whether the dispensary meets zoning standards.