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Middletown police propose ordinance to ban public marijuana smoking downtown
Summary
Police presented a draft ordinance to prohibit smoking marijuana in public spaces to address downtown "quality of life" complaints; the draft would impose a $50 fine for individuals and up to $1,000 for businesses that allow on-site smoking and would begin with warnings and outreach before ticketing.
Chief Steve Austin and officers presented a draft municipal ordinance aimed at reducing public marijuana smoking that they said has produced recurring complaints downtown and along Main Street.
The proposal, introduced to the Special Public Safety Commission on April 27, would mirror the city's public-drinking law and ban smoking marijuana (including vapes and vaporizers) in public spaces. Officer Jesse San Estefano, who said he has taken many of the downtown complaints, described groups congregating on sidewalks near restaurant patios and older homes where smoke is entering residences. "There's nothing we can do" under current state limits, he said, so the city drafted a local ordinance to equalize enforcement.
Proposed penalties cited at the meeting are $50 for individual infractions (which presenters said is the maximum the city can impose under state law for an individual) and $1,000 for businesses that allow smoking on premises or patios. San Estefano asked the commission to treat early enforcement as educational: "The plan is to roll it out with warnings at first ... we're gonna be instructing the officers," he said, adding that warnings will be documented so repeat offenders can be ticketed.
Speakers said the ordinance would include vaping devices and medical marijuana uses under the same definition. Presenters argued that downtown enforcement could also reduce risky illicit sales: San Estefano told the commission that unregulated street purchases sometimes lead to laced products and overdoses, and that tighter public-use rules might reduce those harms.
Supporters described outreach steps before enforcement, including flyers distributed through soup kitchens and outreach to new business owners, and said trespass enforcement could be used by property owners when needed. Chief Austin asked the council to consider the mayor's proposed budget increases that would help fund staffing and overtime tied to new enforcement burdens.
The commission did not vote on the cannabis ordinance on April 27; presenters said the draft will be forwarded to general counsel and scheduled for a future agenda so council and GCC can review follow-up language and enforcement details.
