With conditions, the Warren Town Council, at its November 12 meeting, gave second and final approval to a revised zoning ordinance allowing for the retail sale of marijuana in business and rural business districts.

The amendments, suggested by Councilor John Hanley and approved by the vast majority of the body, included limiting the number of cannabis retailers in town to just one and also requiring at least a one-mile radius buffer between operations.

The districts approved for the operations are located either on Market Street or Metacom Avenue.

As Hanley noted during discussion on the topic, the State of Rhode Island, which issues the licenses, can supersede the town's limitation of retailers, so that was the reason for his recommendation to put in the boundary restriction.

Councilor Louis Rego was the lone dissenting vote of the five on the revised ordinance, citing the current federal executive's opposition to marijuana sales being considered legal.

Hanley, Council President Joseph DePasquale, Vice President Keri Cronin and Councilor Derrik Trombley voted in the affirmative.

Hanley and DePasquale both said the decision to take up and eventually revise the ordinance was not to be seen as an endorsement by the council as a whole or as individuals, just the body following the will of residents.

At the 2022 election, voters by a margin of 57.6%-42.4% (2,278-1,678) approved the issuance of cannabis licenses in Warren.

The state required municipalities to hold an up-or-down referendum on the subject or face the possibility of dispensaries being placed there without their consent.

As Rego recollected, some six municipalities around the state at the same election, including Barrington, opted not to participate in the licensing lottery.

"It's actually the voters that actually passed the referendum that actually allowed this to happen in Warren," said Hanley. "We're just trying to regulate it the best we can so it doesn't get out of hand or out of control."

Warren resident and planning board member Blake Costa, who owns and operates a dispensary in Rhode Island as well as in several other states in the northeast, provided the council with some expert background information prior to its vote.

As an existing holder, Costa is not allowed to be involved with a lottery being conducted by the state to issue 22 additional marijuana retail licenses so he had no conflict of interest on the matter locally.

Costa reiterated the importance of the town being pro-active in setting standards for operations while saying the chance to host cannabis retailers should be seen as a business opportunity.

Finding a suitable location to open an operation is also part of the licensing process, which is why it was imperative for the town to have its preferences written into law before the lottery takes place.

He supported Hanley's suggestion of the mile buffer between any potential facilities. Though it was unlikely to have the same volume of customers, Costa said Warren should not allow for two dispensaries to be in such close proximity as those on Route 6 in neighboring Seekonk.

Costa did, though, say the town should be seeking to gain the tax revenue hosting the businesses would provide. He estimated a similar operation as to the one now open in Portsmouth could see Warren gain some $100,000 annually in levies.

Before the vote, Warren Prevention Coalition administrator Maria Ursini voiced her opposition on the matter.

Ursini questioned the value of hosting dispensaries when compared with the potential need to make commensurate increases to public safety expenditures.