SECTION 1. Section 3 of Chapter 94G of the General Laws, as inserted by Chapter 334 of the Acts of 2016, is hereby amended by striking subsection (b) in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:-

Cities and towns may refuse to permit the creation and operation of marijuana establishments within the town or city only if the majority of the voter population in the respective city or town voted against the legalization of recreational marijuana and such city or town does not contain a registered medical marijuana dispensary.

SECTION 2. Said Section 3 is hereby further amended by inserting after subjection (d) the following subsection:-

(e) Local cities and towns may impose zoning ordinances for the location of retail marijuana establishments. If a city or town does not impose a specific zoning ordinance, the regulations shall default to zoning ordinances required by the Department of Public Health for Registered Medical Marijuana Dispensaries. The default zoning ordinance shall require that a retail marijuana establishment be at least 500 feet from an area where children commonly congregate.