Council member Matt Davidson said based on the fact 57.9% of Fairfield residents supported Issue 2, a near-16 percentage point margin of support, they should not ban marijuana-based businesses from opening. They can limit the number of shops, but not ban the business, especially when zoning regulations will dictate the look and operations of the business type.
“Fifty-eight to 42, to me, is nowhere close to right now the middle,” said Davidson. “To me, that’s a statement right there. That’s a statement of what the citizens want, what the citizens voted for, what the citizens are favoring.”
On Nov. 7, Ohioans voted to legalize recreational marijuana, making the Buckeye State the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana. The law takes effect Thursday, which could be altered by the Ohio legislature, but for now, it allows adults 21 and over to legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, as well as use and grow (six plants per person and 12 per household). It also imposes a 10% sales tax.
This is an expansion of Ohio’s marijuana laws as the state legislature approved the use of medical marijuana in 2016.
The temporary ban took effect after the vote as they passed the legislation as an emergency, two days ahead of when Issue 2 goes into effect.
While many who spoke in opposition were fundamentally opposed to marijuana use, and wanted to limit it within the city, resident Scott Lepsky, a member of the city’s planning commission, said the pause will give the city’s planning, zoning, and development professionals to evaluate the matter as it could change after Columbus lawmakers vote to place limits on the new law.
“There’s nothing in the code to an operation of dispensaries,” said Lepsky. “Those restrictions need to be in place first, just like every other business operating here in the city. It’s responsible and reasonable to put a pause in place to allow your development staff, and boards and commissions to evaluate what we know, and more importantly, what we don’t know.”
But Davidson said the city will lose out on tax revenues if it bans operators, processors and cultivators. He further said that by banning licenses within the city, Fairfield “would just be giving tax revenue somewhere else, we would be funding somewhere else.”
Citing the Ohio State Moritz College of Law, Davidson told the council that Ohio could see between $276 million to $403 million in annual tax revenues, if the tax structure isn’t altered by the General Assembly.
In a proposed ban on homegrown marijuana, among other changes to alter Issue 2, Ohio Senators on Monday are also proposing increasing the marijuana excise tax from 10% to 15%, and add a 15% tax on cultivators, adding millions of dollars more to revenue to the state.
Others on City Council saw the moratorium as a chance to wait until Columbus has a chance to regulate the law and develop licensing procedures.
Fairfield Vice Mayor Tim Meyers said while a majority of city residents supported the use of recreational marijuana, it’s his belief that Issue 2 gave local governments the right to regulate the business operations within their communities. Fairfield has already banned medical marijuana license holders from operating in the city.
“Our constituents, in my mind, have already looked at this; they have already approved it,” he said of the adult recreational use of marijuana. “It’s our job as a legislative body here to make the determination as to the type of businesses (are here). This council has voted unanimously to put a moratorium on vape shops.”
Issue 2 does allow Fairfield and Hamilton city councils, or any other legislative body, to ban or limit license holders operating, which includes operators, cultivators and processors, which mirrors a legislative body’s options for medical marijuana. However, according to the new law, no local legislative body can prohibit laboratory research related to marijuana, including at a state university, academic medical center, or private research and development organization.
The vice mayor disagreed with the idea that a moratorium or ban is bypassing the will of the voters, but it’s still within the purview of the council to evaluate whether license holders should be allowed to operate. He said six other cities, including Hamilton, have or will be considering a ban or moratorium.
While the moratorium impacts operator, cultivator, and processor licenses, it cannot prohibit laboratory research related to marijuana, including at a state university, academic medical center, or private research and development organization.
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