by Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — Recreational cannabis retailers who want to open stores here have been zoned out, so to speak.

The Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to adopt a complete ban for Westport on all businesses related to recreational cannabis.

“For the time being the door is closed,” said P&Z Chair Danielle Dobin.

A lack of information on what neighboring towns are going to do regarding related businesses, as well as a lack of clarity on permit and licensing statutes by the state, helped push the commissioners toward an outright ban.

“Once there is more information and a desire by people on the commission, or in town, to effectuate a change, the law can be changed,” Dobin said.

As of July 1, the state made it legal for people 21 and older to possess and use marijuana recreationally, opening the way for retail stores at the discretion of local lawmakers.

The law provides some guidance on what municipalities can and cannot do, including allowing use on public properties, but several officials said there were many questions as yet unanswered.

“The P&Z office has already received multiple inquiries from people who want to open,” Dobin said, with the ban including all sales, manufacturing, growing and storage businesses related to recreational marijuana.

What would not be affected, they indicated, was the local medicinal marijuana dispensary already approved.

Nicholas Bamonte, an attorney from the town’s law firm, Bercham Moses, gave an overview of the new state law, and nearby municipalities’ preparation for it.

“Greenwich passed a full ban effective July 15,” he said. “Weston is considering similarly a full ban but they don’t have any dates in place (and) Ridgefield, I believe, they will be holding a public hearing later this month on a full ban.”

“Everyone else either seems to be thinking about or following the similar trend that is being proposed here, which is … to really give us some more time to see how this all shakes out,” Bamonte said.

He said the state Department of Consumer Protection would be drawing up regulations for the required licensing.

“The risk is, we don’t have a complete picture right now, just based on what the statutes tell us,” he said. “So really the intent here is to give us some more time to let those regulations come through, fill in some of the open questions.”

And, Bamonte said, the statutes also are still open to interpretation.

“So instead of leaving the door open, we’re proposing this ban to give us time to really think about it, and to potentially come up with more robust, effective regulations,” he said.

“The commission has no information as to what the licensing process will be and even less information about how neighboring towns will or won’t permit these types of uses,” Dobin said.

Bamonte said that if recreational marijuana establishments were allowed to open in Westport, the town would be entitled to 3 percent of the gross receipts.

The money couldn’t be used by the town for just anything, however, but items such as improvements to streetscapes near the businesses, to fund education, youth employment and training, to fund services for people released on probation, and for mental health and addiction services.

Jimmy Izzo, a Representative Town Meeting member from District 3, spoke in favor of a ban.

“I just want you all to know I am against retail sales of marijuana,” he said.

“I could care less who’s smoking it,” he said. “Do whatever you want, it’s a free country. Go smoke your brains out but a lot of my friends are in cemeteries because of drunk driving.”

“Marijuana stays in your system,” he said, calling the passage of the law in both Connecticut and Massachusetts irresponsible.

“Until we have tests to get people off the road, we should ban this stuff,” he said.

Dr. Jay Walshon, who lives in Westport and practices in Milford, seconded Izzo’s sentiment.

“The emergency physician community, the psychiatric community, and most of the teaching community are opposed to the recreational use of marijuana,” he said.

He pointed out that marijuana is still an illegal substance under federal law — an issue that has been a point of contention since Colorado and Washington became the first states to approve recreational use in 2012.

Walshon raised the question of town liability in relation to local sales.

If someone bought marijuana in a Westport establishment, he asked, then crashed and injured someone on Interstate-95, a federal interstate highway, could the town be exposed legally?

While Bamonte said this presented “an interesting situation,” he did not have an answer but could look into it.

Officials mentioned the possible traffic if Westport were to be the only municipality in the area to allow recreational marijuana shops. They cited Springfield, Mass. — a city near the Connecticut border, where marijuana was legalized before Connecticut — and even drew comparisons to the demand for caffeine at the local Starbucks drive-through on Post Road East.

“We really need to have more information about what’s happening,” Dobin said.

Jarret Liotta contributed reporting to this article.