Norton town meeting voters will be asked Monday if the town should allow retail sales. If that measure fails, voters will then be asked whether to extend a moratorium on retail shops until Dec. 31.
Mansfield town meeting voters will be asked Tuesday whether to permit recreational marijuana businesses in town. If they do, they will then be asked to decide where in town to allow them.
But that’s not the end of the process for Mansfield. If the recreational marijuana businesses are prohibited, the question has to be put to a townwide referendum because the town’s voters favored legalization in the state referendum.
That step is not necessary in towns that voted against marijuana legalization in 2016.
Unlike many communities, Attleboro officials have been gung-ho about legalized marijuana use. In fact, they have been accused of trying to draw business from Rhode Island which allows marijuana sales for medical but not recreational use.
Mayor Paul Heroux has said he wants as many marijuana businesses established locally as can be safely handled by the city.
“The city of Attleboro voted 57 percent in favor of it, and so considering that we need the revenues to come from somewhere to help pay for police, fire, schools and all the other city departments, this is a new revenue source,” he told The Providence Journal last month.