The Enfield Town Council on Monday night in a 6-3 party-line vote approved a resolution that repeals the town-wide ordinance that prohibited cannabis-selling establishments in town.
Six Democratic council members voted in favor of the resolution, while the three Republicans present voted to preserve the ban. Democratic Councilman Douglas Finger opted to abstain from the vote while Republican Councilman Joseph Bosco was absent.
The repeal came in the wake of a nearly two-hour-long public hearing, which was the second of its kind. Approximately 20 residents spoke, with an even mix of them in favor of the repeal and in opposition.Â
The first public hearing on the matter happened during a council meeting on Sept. 7, where more than 30 residents spoke out over the course of 1½ hours, with 22 of them in opposition of the then-proposed ban while six supported it and three were indifferent.
The ordinance that banned marijuana sales passed 6-3 along party lines later in the meeting, which at the time was under Republican majority. Since then, the council has swung to a Democratic majority following the November election.
In total, the ban lasted nearly three months before it was repealed Monday.
Mayor Bob Cressotti, a Democrat, said  last week that some council members plan to travel to businesses in Massachusetts, a state that approved recreational marijuana in 2016, in an effort to learn more about the retail cannabis industry before it gets underway in town.
Possession and use of recreational marijuana for people age 21 and over became legal in the state on July 1, with the sale of cannabis expected to commence sometime in late 2022.
