Marijuana sales question could be back on Mead ballot for third time

MEAD — For a third time in five years, voters in Mead may be asked to approve retail and medical marijuana sales in town. 

The town board will consider the matter at a meeting tonight. They could decide to enact an ordinance or let the citizen initiative process play out, putting a question on the Nov. 5 ballot.

According to town documents, legalizing marijuana sales has been put before the voters two times in recent years, each time failing — it lost in 2019 662 to 1,046 and in 2021, it failed 657 to 1,006.

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Mary Strutt, administrative services director for the Town of Mead, said the town has gained 2,000 residents since the last marijuana vote. Given that, the group will need to collect 250 signatures to get the question on the ballot.

“Most of our board believes strongly that it’s a matter for the public to decide and they’ll let it go to a vote,” Strutt said, “Mead is getting bigger. Could the new residents feel differently? It’s a whole new demographic.”

At the May 28 Town Board Meeting, Autumn Todd and David Wilczynski spoke during public comment regarding an initiative to put a question on the November 5, 2024 ballot. They requested that the board consider drafting an ordinance and either adopting it outright or referring the question to the voters of Mead. The next day, Todd submitted a citizens’ initiative to the Mead Town Clerk’s office for review, according to town documents.

Once it is approved by the clerk as to form, the petitioners have 180 days to obtain signatures of at least 5% of the registered voters and resubmit the petition. 

In 2013, the Board of Trustees adopted an ordinance to prohibit the operation of marijuana cultivation facilities, product manufacturing facilities, testing facilities and retail stores in town, town documents said. 

It enacted, marijuana sales would generate a 3% sales tax locally, and the state shares back some of the 15% tax it collects from sales, according to the documents.