[420 Girl]

What the Board of Health had considered as a needed health regulation to prohibit smoking marijuana in public places, and close a legal loophole, may be a moot point.

While the board met last night to host a public hearing on the drafting of town marijuana regulations, one state official said state legal language already prohibits smoking the drug in public places.

On Nov. 4, voters approved the decriminalization of possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, making it a civil offense.

The town's smoking code deals exclusively with tobacco. It is silent on marijuana, prompting the board to ensure local regulations prohibit use of the drug in public places .

That initiative went into effect at the beginning of the year.

Board of Health Chairman Michael Hugo said there is no town regulation prohibiting someone, once the law changes, from lighting up a joint in the bathroom of Town Hall.

"There's nothing to stop them from doing it because it's a tobacco ban," Hugo said last month.

While "you can have a fine for the marijuana," Hugo said, "you can't do anything about the fact that they're smoking in a restaurant."

However, Donald J. Wilson, director of Municipal Tobacco Control Technical Assistance Program, said "extra phraseology" inserted in state law, while not naming marijuana specifically, prohibits smoking the drug in public places.

The board will continue the public hearing on Jan. 20. Hugo said the board may still change local health code to have it mesh with state law.

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