The Alanson Village Council recently voted down an ordinance that would have allowed medical marijuana facilities to set up locally.
The measure failed with a 2-2 vote at a village meeting earlier this month, according to village trustee Doug Larson. Council members Preston Grobaski and Dave Stepanovich favored the proposed policy, while Greg Babcock and Marvin Blumke opposed it and Larson abstained.
The policy would have allowed a medical marijuana dispensary, one processing location and one secured transporter license within the village’s limits. However, no grower or testing medical marijuana facilities would have been allowed, according to Larson.
The village hosted a public hearing about the proposal in December. About 40 people showed up to the hearing at the village hall and shared mixed opinions about the issue.
Near the end of 2017, the village council voted 3-2 to proceed in drafting the ordinance. Council president Babcock and trustee Blumke voted against the motion. In January, the village council decided unanimously to delay action on the proposal.
Larson noted officials sent out a survey in the spring looking for input from village residents about the issue. He said the village mailed out 385 forms. Twenty-two came back in favor of the measure while 30 were against the proposal, according to Larson.
Larson noted he abstained from voting on the measure because he was supportive of the ordinance, but the community was not in favor. He added the other council members opinion stayed consistent in their stances throughout the process, noting Babcock and Blumke voted against the measure.
