CLAYTON — Voter approval of Issue 2 on the November ballot has resulted in possession of marijuana legal in Ohio as of Dec. 7.
Issue 2 authorized the cultivation, sale, and use of marijuana for recreational purposes as legal.
At its Dec. 19 meeting, the city of Clayton passed a resolution to give city staff time to deal with the adult use marijuana law.
Clayton imposed an immediate moratorium on the issuance and processing of any permits for operators, cultivators, processors, and retail dispensaries of adult use marijuana as defined in Sections 3780.01 through 3780.99 of the Ohio Revised Code.
According to the resolution, “The purpose of this moratorium is to allow the City Administration and Council to consider amendments to pertinent Codified Ordinances, including the Clayton Zoning Code, to prepare regulations which may be necessary, and to determine where and whether to allow, limit, or prohibit cultivators, processors, and retail dispensaries in the City.”
The moratorium will be in place until June 15, 2024, until changes are enacted to amend the Codified Ordinances of the City of Clayton to address these issues, or until Council approves legislation explicitly revoking this moratorium, whichever occurs first.
The Ohio Constitution as well as local ordinances gives Clayton council the inherent power to enact planning, zoning, and business regulation laws that further the health, safety, welfare, comfort, and peace of its citizens, including restricting, prohibiting and/or regulating certain business uses.
The Ohio Senate passed a bill to change the language of the original statute as it took effect. The Ohio General Assembly have already expressed its intent to amend the Act but have not yet clarified whether the Act will be repealed, modified, or materially altered.
Section 3780.03 of the Act provides that a newly created ‘Division of Cannabis’ shall adopt rules establishing standards and procedures for the implantation of the adult use marijuana program, including licensing requirements for cultivators, processors, and retailers.
As currently written, the Act provides for the Division of Cannabis a period of nine months after Dec. 7, 2023, to implement rules and regulations regarding the adult use marijuana program.
The Senate’s bill proposes a cut in THC levels for both plant and extract products, as well as a ban on growing cannabis at home, directing tax revenue toward funding for the state, law enforcement training, substance abuse treatment and prevention and safe driving training, all things that were different in the original statute.
The bill also calls for medical marijuana dispensaries to be allowed to sell cannabis products for recreational use before the state begins issuing recreational dispensary licenses within the next nine months.
As a result, some jurisdictions have passed legislation to put the brakes on potential businesses that would be involved in the sale of marijuana until local laws can be enacted.
“We already have a cultivator in the city and this is not retroactive to affect them?” Vice Mayor Tim Gorman asked City Manager Amanda Zimmerlin.
“It does not affect medical marijuana, only recreational,” Zimmerlin responded.
“What I read, it says a lot of cities around us have come up with the same memorandum but a lot theirs has a time limit of six months or so and ours is unlimited the way I read it,” Gorman said.
“Ours is 180 days and it expires June 15, 2024, unless council takes some action prior to that to change it,” Zimmerlin said.
Law Director Martina Dillon explained that the moratorium would be in place until June 15 unless council approves legislation explicitly revoking the moratorium. The city could also vote to extend the moratorium.
Councilman Brendan Bachman asked if council took no action and retailers such as Casey’s General Store or United Dairy Farmers obtained licenses, could those businesses sell adult use marijuana?
“If the state gets its ducks in a row and they start issuing licensing, and Casey’s and UDF both get licenses, then yes, they could potentially sell,” Zimmerlin said.
According to an article in our sister publication, The Lima News, the Ohio House of Representatives and Governor Mike DeWine still need to approve the bill, but for experts like Ohio State Professor Doug Berman, the proposal has already revealed a lot about where Ohio politicians stand on the issue after it was approved by voters.
“The failure of the General Assembly to address this for the two years that the initiative was in the works is, I think, a matter to their discredit,” Berman said. “They may have hoped or wanted to believe that it wouldn’t pass with flying colors, but now that we’ve seen the will of the people and we saw a real pushback to the original proposal in the Senate, I think the GA is coming to understand that there’s real widespread support for legalization.
“And I think everybody agrees that there’s a need to make sure it’s done in a responsible way and that the regulations and rules around that are thoughtful and well-conceived. That’s really hard to do in a rushed way, so I am ultimately inclined to be complimentary of the House for not creating the kind of artificial deadline that something has to get done before this became legally effective,” Berman said.
Governor DeWine recently reiterated his stance that he recognized the will of the voters, but that the state has an obligation to implement the program properly.
“The bill that was just passed out in the Senate committee, while respecting the will of the voters, deals with the practical challenges of its program and protects as best we can our children, our families and those who don’t want to be exposed to marijuana at all,” he said. “It’s very important, I believe, that this bill now in front of the Senate pass and become law. And it’s important that this occur as soon as possible.”
Recreational marijuana is not yet available for purchase in Ohio dispensaries, but the Department of Commerce’s new Division of Cannabis Control must adopt rules to implement the statute within nine months of the effective date, according to the department website.
Anyone over the age of 21 is allowed to possess and use non-medical marijuana in the state of Ohio.
The bill would take effect 90 days after the governor signs it.
Reach Ron Nunnari by email: [email protected].
