BEAVERCREEK — Beavercreek City Council passed a six-month moratorium on the issuance and processing of any permits allowing dispensaries, cultivation and processing centers of medical marijuana Jan. 22.
It will expire in July.
The passing of this moratorium does not apply to the three applications already in process for a dispensary center within the Beavercreek city limits. The decision on the current applications are up to the State of Ohio and the decision should be made soon. But, this moratorium will apply to any future interests.
By definition, a moratorium allows council to limit the number of, or entirely prohibit, cultivators and/or processors and dispensaries. With this provision in place, it will allow council and staff additional time to review the city’s goals, the current zoning, prohibition and limitations of the medical marijuana businesses, including dispensaries, cultivators, and processing centers.
“We thought we were safe and this wasn’t going to be needed, but we need to do this,” Mayor Bob Stone said.
The additional time will also allow council and staff to study the law that relates to medical marijuana issues that exist in other municipalities to help determine if allowing it would be good for the city.
“We’ve been talking about this issue for a long time,” Councilman Chad Upton said. “We’ve passed other moratoriums, we’ve denied one, and we’ve had public informational meetings about this topic.”
This issue will continue being a priority topic for the city and residents until resolved.
