Selectmen say Planning Board should continue ordinance work before town vote on adult-use cannabis

At the Nov. 18 Selectmen meeting in Whiting, Selectman Bob Boggia asked whether a public hearing would be scheduled on an adult-use cannabis ordinance, and the minutes record that the Planning Board had told the Selectmen in October the ordinance was in the Selectmen’s hands and that the Planning Board recommended not opting in.

The Selectmen said they would have the Planning Board continue working on the ordinance and that the town would later vote to approve or deny it. Robert Curtis also requested that an agenda be posted before each meeting, a separate procedural item noted in the minutes.

The minutes do not record any formal vote or final decision on the ordinance at this meeting; they record discussion of the Planning Board’s recommendation and the Selectmen’s plan to move the process toward a town vote. The minutes do not state whether a public hearing date was set, only that the Selectmen discussed further action and asked the Planning Board to continue its work.

Why it matters: whether the town opts in to allow adult-use cannabis affects local licensing and whether retail sales or other uses may occur in Whiting; the Planning Board’s recommendation against opting in signals local caution but does not finalize policy without a Selectmen decision and a town vote.

The minutes provide no quote recordings or formal motions specific to adopting or rejecting the ordinance; they record only that the Planning Board recommended not opting in and that Selectmen plan further work toward a town vote. The Selectmen did not record a public hearing date in the minutes.