After months of back-and-forth debate — and the passage of an initial prohibition — Pataskala City Council on July 24 approved legislation permitting some marijuana businesses to locate within the city.
There was no discussion, either before or after the vote because council members had spent months debating the issue.
A number of residents also had chimed in during the lengthy, multi-meeting debate, many with medical conditions they argued would improve with access to medical marijuana.
The ordinance the council approved July 24 will not outright open the door to all medical marijuana businesses.
For example, it only covers medical marijuana cultivators and processors. Dispensaries will remain a no go, as the legislation specifically prohibits them.
Any potential businesses wanting to cultivate or process medical marijuana, meanwhile, will need to adhere to a number of requirements, all outlined in the ordinance.
One of those requirements covers locations: Prospective businesses will not be able to locate near schools, churches, libraries, parks, playgrounds, recreational facilities and day cares.
In addition, they will need to jump through a number of city-mandated hoops.
Those hoops involve both the Pataskala Planning and Zoning Commission and the council.
Both bodies would need to consider the following criteria when considering applications:
Prospective businesses also would need to allow the city and the Pataskala Police Department to inspect their facilities, without notice. The list of what the city and the police could inspect is long, and it includes vehicles and machinery.
The ordinance also outlines potential ways the city could issue a warning, suspension or revocation of a license based upon various local- and state-level violations.
In short, medical marijuana cultivators and processors would need to comply with all state rules and licensing requirements, while also following the city’s rules and licensing procedures.
“We put enough safeguards in place,” said council President Tim Hickin, articulating one of the reasons why he voted for the ordinance. “We’ve moved (the prospective uses) farther from churches and schools than state law, and we’ve put in extra permitting requirements, (among other restrictions).”
Most importantly, Hickin said the current council or a future council will have the final say so in approving a medical marijuana business.
The council initially approved an ordinance on June 19 that outright prohibited all medical marijuana businesses.
At the time, some members said they voted for the move to give the city time to draft more detailed legislation.
Still, the subsequent July 24 vote illustrated the split on the council.
The vote was 4-2, with council members Tom Lee and Todd Barstow voting against the ordinance. Councilwoman Suzanne Hayes was not present at the meeting, but Hayes told the council on July 10 that she opposed the legislation.
Lee, at the same meeting, also articulated his opposition, saying he did not feel right voting to permit medical marijuana businesses in the city while also serving on a local anti-drug task force.
Walther, on the opposite end of the debate, used that meeting to advocate for medical marijuana. He argued some people continue to view marijuana as an illegal drug, not a medicine. In addition, Walther pointed out the medical form of the drug differs from the hallucinogenic form.
Per the state’s rules and regulations, certified physicians will need to recommend the use of marijuana for more than two dozen qualifying conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The state also restricts the forms. As such, smoking medical marijuana is prohibited. The only allowable forms are oils, tinctures, plant material, edibles and patches.
Walther, who toured a medical marijuana cultivation site in Florida, brought up the restrictions throughout the long debate, detailing the differences between the medical form of marijuana and the non-medical form.
Hickin, when reached after the vote, also noted the differences between the two forms.
“I don’t have any problem separating out medical marijuana from recreational marijuana” he said. “There are some people who hear the word marijuana and they think, ‘No, bad.'”
Still, Hickin said he respected and understood Lee’s stance on the issue. However, Hickin said medical marijuana may be able to help people suffering from a variety of medical conditions. In addition, permitting cultivators and processors to come to the city could have a positive economic impact, he said.
“I think ultimately, while I’m not convinced it will be a great boon to the (city’s) economic initially, it may be in the future,” Hickin said.
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