EAST LONGMEADOW – The Board of Health appeared before the Town Council on March 28 with the focus on recreational marijuana. In the November 2016 general elections, Massachusetts voters approved recreational marijuana use.

The board was required to call a formal meeting on the subject before the council.

Board members were concerned about marijuana use by youth, especially related to brain development.

Dr. Sarah Perez McAdoo went over regulations related to the number of dispensaries that can open in East Longmeadow, including medical marijuana dispensaries.

Board Member Karen Robitaille said the majority of marijuana purchased and used in Colorado, where recreational use is legal, is of a non-smoking variety. She remains alarmed by the ongoing opioid epidemic.

She said the state needs to “backtrack” on how alcohol and marijuana abuse can escalate to harder substances, including heroin. She said opioid related deaths have risen in East Longmeadow in the past few years, on par with Springfield.

Robitaille said shops in Colorado are obviously targeting younger users, including selling marijuana infused candies that look like Kit Kat Bars or Gummy Bears. In Colorado, retail marijuana shops outnumber McDonald’s and Starbucks.

A majority of the Colorado shops are in pockets around the state, leading to a heavy influx of buyers and users in those communities.

Dr. Kevin Hinchey said edible marijuana brands are hard to distinguish between the benign products. “The edible marijuana is the major issue,” he said. He, too, was concerned about the effect the higher THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) levels will have on child’s or teen’s brain development.

Board members told the council the town must abide to state recreational marijuana regulations, including the products offered and the concentration levels.

Compared to the TCH levels  in the 1970s and 1980s, which hovered around three-percent, today’s marijuana is now in the double-digits. TCH levels in edibles far exceed the smoked variety.

East Longmeadow voters disapproved of the statewide referendum. The board continues to educate school officials about recreational marijuana.

The council is authorized to place a ballot question for the next election on whether the town favors recreational marijuana businesses.

The voters can also push for a ballot question through an initiative. The required 50 signatures must be filed by April 6. The Connecticut State Legislature is also considering whether to approve recreational marijuana use.

Only four memberscof the Council were present for the make-up meeting, short of the super majority needed to approve zone changes.

Councilor Donald J. Anderson presided as acting president. He was joined by Councilors Kathleen Hill,  Michael Kane and Joseph Ford.

The council waited for a fifth councilor to appear for the scheduled 6:30 and 6:45 p.m., public hearings. New hearing dates must be set, which includes notifying the public in a timely manner. The upcoming budget hearing should take up much of the agenda on April 11.

Anderson asked for site visits to the properties related to the hearings.

He asked for a daytime visits to the properties. He briefly and closed the hearings.

The zone change hearing is rescheduled for 5:30 p.m., on April 11.

The council postponed a discussion on evaluation procedures for town manager.

Town Manager Denise Menard said a majority of her time has been spent preparing for the April 11 budget hearing. She added the process has been time consuming compared to the previous year. Menard asked the town’s departments for more information regarding their budgets.

She provided an update on renovations to Town Hall. The hall remains an active construction site. Menard praised the efforts of Public Works and Town Hall employees for their assistance during construction.

The body approved the new manager for the 99 Restaurant and Pub. Newly appointed manager Jennifer Goraj appeared before the council. Goraj has been with the restaurant chain for 14 years, serving for nine years as a manager at the Holyoke Mall.

She is certified under the Commonwealth’s alcohol regulations.