By Carol Britton Meyer

A citizen’s petition submitted to the Town Clerk’s Office July 27 for the Aug. 31 special town meeting asks voters to amend the town’s zoning bylaw and overturn the ban on recreational marijuana sales resulting from a related 2018 town meeting vote.

Following certification of the required number of signatures, a warrant article asking voters to allow an existing registered marijuana dispensary in Hull to add adult use retail sales will appear on the warrant.

Last week, the Select Board acted upon another citizen’s petition calling for a special town meeting related to the potential granting of an additional package store license to the Town of Hull through special legislation – for the Quick Pick Food Store on Nantasket Avenue. Other warrant articles will also be addressed. (See related story.)

The green light for any such adult use retail sales would be subject to the issuance of a special permit and site plan approval by the Planning Board and the execution of a new host agreement between the registered marijuana dispensary and the town. Town meeting has the final say on all warrant articles. Passage of such a zoning bylaw requires a two-thirds vote of approval.

Hull resident Bruce McWhorter and others submitted the citizen’s petition containing 300 signatures on behalf of the Alternative Compassion Services medical marijuana dispensary on George Washington Boulevard, ACS Outreach Coordinator Ellen Kasper told the Hull Times. The article does not specifically name ACS. “Town meeting approval would be the first step,” she said.

ACS President Stephen Werther told the Hull Times that ACS would like to add adult use retail sales to the current dispensing of medical marijuana in order for the business to be more viable. “We’re a local company hiring local people, and we’re legal, regulated, we bring in revenue to the town, and our marijuana is tested,” he said.

The sale of marijuana is legal in Massachusetts but is not legal at the federal level.

A big benefit to the town if recreational marijuana sales were to be allowed in Hull, Werther said, is that the host community receives three percent of the 20 percent sales tax on recreational marijuana sales.

The town of Rockland has received a significant amount of tax revenue generated by its three recreational marijuana dispensaries – a total of $2.4 million from Fiscal 2021 through Fiscal 2023 – an example, Werther noted. He predicts that if the sale of recreational marijuana is ultimately allowed in Hull, tax revenues could also be significant, even from the one dispensary – ACS – that’s currently in town. This potential revenue could end up topping restaurant and hotel tax revenues, he speculated.

“If we sold [recreational marijuana in addition to medical marijuana], I believe we would draw more business from Hull, Hingham, Cohasset, Scituate, and the surrounding area,” he said.

The initial purpose of the citizen’s petition was to call for a special town meeting to discuss the proposed adult use retail sales, but by the time it was filed, a special town meeting had already been called related to the liquor license warrant article submitted by Hull resident Christine Rivieccio and others July 17.

Submission of the adult use retail sales citizen’s petition follows an unexpected twist to the citizen’s petition submitted by Meghan Sylvester and others that was considered at the spring 2023 town meeting related to allowing Alternative Compassion Services to add retail sales of marijuana by special permit, subject to site plan review.

At that time, Sylvester offered a substitute motion on behalf of the petitioners, which was approved by voters, that “Based on information we were given by Town Counsel after town meeting began, I move that Article 18 be referred to the zoning bylaw committee without prejudice for consideration of the article at any special or Annual Town Meeting.”

The deferral was requested at that time because the article addressed only the zoning prohibition on retail marijuana, not the ban contained in Hull’s general bylaws.

A negative vote on the zoning change at the Spring 2023 town meeting would have prevented the issue from being considered again at town meeting for at least two years.

Citizen’s petitions for the Aug. 31 special town meeting will be accepted until Monday, Aug. 14, at 3 p.m., according to Town Clerk Lori West. A