FL: Our Opinion - Moratorium On Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Sends Wrong Message

Katelyn Baker;3149963 said:

On Nov. 8, voters across the state overwhelming passed a constitutional amendment to allow medical marijuana. In Leon County, 113,919 – or 76 percent – of the 150,426 voters who bothered to weigh in on Amendment 2 said they wanted to make medical marijuana legal in the Sunshine State.

In response to the voters unambiguous desire to have medical marijuana legally available for cancer patients, people with epilepsy and others who qualify, the Tallahassee City Commission has moved to impose a six-month moratorium on applications for new medical marijuana dispensaries beyond those three already in the pipeline.

Two companies — Surterra and Trulieve — already operate dispensaries in Tallahassee. A third company, Knox Medical out of Winter Garden, has a building permit application for a dispensary under review.

The moratorium would also prevent the existing dispensaries from expanding their products or services.

Although two public hearings are planned before final approval on Jan. 25, the commission’s move puts all applications on ice – immediately.

Before their unanimous vote earlier this month, commissioners extolled their love of home rule and voiced fears of an “overreaching” Legislature.

“I am not a huge fan of the Legislature telling us what’s in our best interest,” Mayor Andrew Gillum said. “We ought to be the ones determining what is best for us, what is best for Tallahassee.”

Another commissioner worried about Tallahassee becoming “the cannabis capital of the state.”

Given the public’s overwhelming support for medical marijuana, an 180-day moratorium sounds like moral disapproval when it's the city’s first official response.

There was at best muted concern for the commissioners’ infirm constituents for whom medical marijuana could be a lifeline and who deserve compassion and relief.

Under current law, the state preempts local governments on the growing and processing locations for companies licensed to produce and distribute medical marijuana. Local governments control the locations and hours of operation for dispensaries.

One fear is that the passage of Amendment 2 opens the door to a whole new wave of businesses, called medical marijuana treatment centers. The Legislature has to develop new rules to regulate those.

That legislative uncertainty has prompted many Florida communities to put a pause on marijuana dispensaries. That seems like an anti-business, anti-free market, almost panicky response.

City commissioners can learn from their counterparts in Boulder, Colorado, a location Tallahassee hopes to emulate when it comes to business start ups and entrepreneurship.

Since Colorado approved the legal sale of medical marijuana and then regular pot shops, Boulder has treated it as a land use -- aka zoning -- issue. The city set fees to ensure that taxpayers don’t subsidize this burgeoning industry. Fees and licenses cover the cost of inspections and other burdens this new industry imposes.

“We treat it like we treat liquor stores,” said Boulder Senior Assistant City Attorney Kathy Haddock.

Yes, dispensary locations are a zoning issue and should be treated as such. Regulations should take into consideration the location of the city’s colleges and university and K-12 schools. The city does so as a normal course of doing business.

Yes, there is reason to distrust the state, given the Florida Department of Health’s bungling of Charlotte’s Web regulations and the allotment of franchises to grow the product. But there’s a big difference between a lack of confidence in the Legislature and this anti-business roadblock the Commission has erected.

A city that is trying to wean itself off its dependence on state government jobs must find ways to encourage the private sector and adjust to the new economic opportunities that will come with the legalization of medical marijuana and other nontraditional industries.

News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Our Opinion - Moratorium On Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Sends Wrong Message
Author: Staff
Contact: Tallahassee Democrat
Photo Credit: Joe Rondone
Website: Tallahassee Democrat

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