By John Schwing

WESTPORT — The odds against a business selling recreational marijuana in Westport appear high.

That’s the general feedback from Planning and Zoning Commission members who discussed the idea Monday at a non-binding “pre-application” hearing, scheduled at the request of Bluepoint Wellness, the town’s lone medical marijuana dispensary at 1460 Post Road East.

Nick Tamborrino, owner/manager of Bluepoint Wellness, requested the informal hearing because he wanted to hear commissioners’ thinking on whether the town’s ban on recreational marijuana sales, adopted in 2021, could be lifted because the state now allows liquor stores to sell THC-infused beverages. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the primary chemical found in marijuana.

In 2023, Tamborrino also came before the P&Z for a similar pre-application hearing on allowing Bluepoint Wellness to become a “hybrid” dispensary — selling both prescription medical and recreational marijuana. After a generally negative reaction from commissioners, Bluepoint did not follow up by filing a formal application.

Things did not go much differently at Monday night’s hearing.

Bluepoint Wellness, Tamborrino told the P&Z, is now the state’s sole dispensary selling only medical marijuana. He wanted to know if evolving state and federal regulations, as well as the track record for marijuana sales in the state, have changed commissioners’ views about granting the business zoning permission to became a hybrid outlet.

The sale of recreational marijuana was permitted in Connecticut starting in January 2023, but sales are allowed only with permission granted by each town and city individually. The text amendment prohibiting cannabis establishments in Westport, with the exception of “medical dispensary facilities,” was adopted by the P&Z in September 2021.

Tamborrino said “at least eight” liquor stores in Westport now sell THC-infused beverages, allowed under state regulations as of July 1. Bluepoint also sells such drinks, but only to its medical customers, he said. 

“The ability of package stores to sell these [THC beverages] beverages in Westport puts us at a disadvantage,” he said.

Traffic had been a major concern for the P&Z when it adopted its local ban on recreational marijuana sales three years ago, Tamborrino said, but with about 50 cannabis retailers now operating across the state, the prospect of heavy customer traffic converging on any one store has been defused.

He also noted the federal Department of Justice has proposed reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act to a lesser Schedule III status.

“Due to the changes mentioned at the state, local and federal levels, and the amount of time that has passed … it may be the right time to consider a text amendment” allowing retail recreational marijuana sales in Westport to people 21 years old and over, Tamborrino said.

The town also could benefit from proceeds of a 3 percent sales tax imposed on recreational sales in each host community, which amounted to approximately $260,000 for Middletown, where Bluepoint has operated a cannabis business for the last year and a half, he said.

Several P&Z members, including Chair Paul Lebowitz, said it may be “too soon” to consider changes to the town’s 2021 ban on adult recreational sales.

Several P&Z commissioners also were surprised to learn that local liquor stores are selling THC-infused beverages.

Michael Cammeyer wondered if liquor stores are allowed to sell such products without first securing zoning permission.

No local liquor stores have received specific permission from the zoning staff to sell THC-infused products, Planning and Zoning Director Michelle Perillie said. But such sales take place under the state’s umbrella liquor policies, she added.

Neil Cohn said when the P&Z allowed sale of marijuana to medical patients, the panel was clear that recreational sales were off the table.

The commission was not aware that local liquor stores are selling THC drinks, which he said “is something we need to look into.” It seems to him that liquor stores should not be permitted to sell such beverages under Westport’s existing regulations, Cohn added.

John Bolton agreed, saying the town’s regulations are clear that selling recreational marijuana products is prohibited locally.

“Things change, we learn,” Tamborrino responded, “and enough time has passed” with Connecticut’s legalization of cannabis for those at least 21 years old that the regulated sale of those products is comparable to the sale of alcohol.

Acknowledging that competition is a concern for Bluepoint Wellness, Lebowitz said he did not hear a “special need” underlying the request for a hybrid business.

“We don’t know whether or not the people of Westport are ready” for the sale of recreational marijuana, Lebowitz added, suggesting Tamborrino gather “more details” to support his proposal.

Cammeyer agreed that “times are changing” and Westport may need to re-evaluate its policies on cannabis sales, but noted that no one has reached out to the commission asking for a change in existing regulations. He said he sees “no compelling need” for the proposal.

John Schwing, interim editor of the Westport Journal, has held senior editorial and writing posts at southwestern Connecticut media outlets for four decades. Learn more about us here.