Ashland voters approve temporary ban on pot dispensaries

ASHLAND, Mass. — Just weeks after voters in Massachusetts approved legalizing marijuana for recreational use, one town has voted to halt the opening of dispensaries.

Ashland passed a temporary moratorium on pot shops Monday night at a special town meeting. More than two-thirds of town meeting voters raised their hands in favor of the new bylaw.

The moratorium would block businesses that want to sell marijuana from applying for zoning permits until 2018, when the retail sale of pot becomes legal in Massachusetts.

The decision will head to the Massachusetts Attorney General for final approval.

Ashland is now the first town in the state to approve a temporary ban on the retail sale of marijuana. The town was just one of many to pass a similar moratorium that temporarily blocked the sale of medical marijuana shortly after it was approved in 2012.

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Cox Media Group