BARRINGTON, R.I. (WPRI) — After recreational marijuana was legalized in Rhode Island, Barrington residents will soon get to vote if dispensaries should be allowed in town.
Gov. Dan McKee signed a bill into law in May that allows adults over 21 to possess, use and grow cannabis. It also expunges past convictions and sets up a new framework for sales and taxation at state-sanctioned stores.
Although the law immediately legalized marijuana possession statewide, retail sales still won’t start until December.
Municipalities will also be able to ban the sale of marijuana by voter referendum his fall, though cities and towns that already have dispensaries would not be allowed to ban further stores.
On Nov. 8, voters in Barrington will be asked: “Shall new cannabis licenses for businesses involved in the cultivation, manufacture, laboratory testing and for the retail sale of adult recreational use cannabis be issued in the Town of Barrington?”
The town council authorized the referendum earlier this year.
Barrington is the first of the state’s 39 cities and towns to place the issue before voters, with more expected to put a cannabis question on the November ballot.
The deadline to schedule a vote on the topic is on Aug. 10.
Rhode Island is the 19th state in the nation to legalize the drug for recreational use.
