NORTHAMPTON – After a lengthy roundtable during a Community Services meeting in late September, Northampton is continuing their discussions with experts and panelists around the effects of the cannabis business in Northampton since the first dispensary opened in 2018.

On Oct. 3, the Committee on City Services invited Police Chief Jody Kasper and Health Commissioner Merridith O’Leary to discuss what, if any effects, the cannabis market has had on police calls, crime and call activity, substance use prevention programs and addiction and recovery services. The overarching goal of these roundtables is to figure out whether a future decision to cap the amount of dispensaries in Northampton is viable.

Kasper’s experiences

When NETA first opened in 2018 off of Conz Street, Kasper said vehicle traffic and accidents increased around the site, as the facility drew over thousands of customers per day during those early months.
As more dispensaries entered the city, and as more surrounding states embarked on their own legalization process, Kasper said vehicle traffic diminished.

“We observed less customers go into NETA, and we certainly don’t have the same kinds of traffic, via pedestrian or vehicle challenges, down in that area than we had when it opened,” said Kasper. “I think that initial opening that we had and what happened with that, I don’t anticipate that continuing to happen as more sites open up.”

According to Kasper, the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) requires the chief or captain of the city to inspect all the dispensaries before opening to make sure there are proper security measures. So far in Northampton, Kasper said this process has been “smooth-sailing.”

Some findings

“Do we have a lot of calls [at dispensaries]; is it something very different than other sorts of sites,” said Kasper. “The short answer is no. We really just don’t have anything going on at these facilities.”
Instead, most calls to dispensaries are similar to most stores that open; for example, the occasional alarm goes off, a random medical issue happens, or other concerns. “We’re not having anything specific related to the fact that it is a marijuana facility,” said Kasper. “They’re generally quiet; we haven’t had violent crimes in the parking lots.”

“Overall, our assessment of these sites is that nothing particularly of note is going on there that’s not going on anywhere else,” continued Kasper.

When it comes to drug-related operating under the influence (OUI) occurrences, Kasper said the city has seen an increase, percentage-wise. For example, in 2019, 5.4 percent of the OUIs in Northampton were OUI drugs, while in 2020, that number increased to 9.8 percent. In 2021, that number rocketed to 22.2 percent.

The caveat with these percentages, however, is the numbers themselves were minuscule. In 2019 and 2020, there were six of these cases, while in 2021, there were 14.

“Those are very small numbers to work with,” said Kasper. “Also, when we learned that marijuana was going to be in our community, we have officers who are drug recognition experts, and we’re better at detecting and apprehending, and ultimately charging folks with OUI drugs.”

The other question is if all these OUI cases involve cannabis. The answer to that, according to Kasper, is no.

“It’s mixed drugs,” said Kasper. “A lot of times, people are under the influence of multiple substances that may include alcohol, marijuana, prescription medications, other drugs, and quite honestly, it’s easiest to charge someone with OUI alcohol because we have a very clear law on it.”

Because cannabis is still a novel market, Kasper said there is not a clear numerical indicator that someone has used cannabis while driving, which is another reason why it is easier to charge someone with an alcohol related OUI.

O’Leary’s thoughts

“Because cannabis has not been legalized long enough, there’s not a lot of data available as to show how retail cannabis will affect our youth,” said O’Leary.

Because of this, O’Leary’s data was mostly presented through the lens of her experiences with the tobacco industry. “We know that, based off tobacco history, tobacco retail density is associated with youth initiation and experimentation with tobacco products,” said O’Leary. “Th higher retail density contributes to uptake of youth smoking and initiation.”

A study from the RAND Corporation shows that, as cannabis outlets open, the density of those recreational retailers is associated with more use and greater intensity of use with young adults, according to O’Leary.

“I’m asking council today to think about our built environment and learn from previous experiences with substances in our community and asking you to consider a cap,” said O’Leary. “Capping retail permits, capping limits or reducing the amount of retail licenses that are available in any given municipality is a long-term strategy that we have used to reduce retail density and exposure to the substance.”

The City Council and committees plan to deliberate on this issue in future meetings. Interested parties can also check Reminder Publishing’s prior coverage of the discussions on our website.