Hamilton residents want city council to reconsider marijuana prohibition

Some communities, like Middletown, Monroe and Seven Mile, have embraced medical and recreational marijuana legalization.

Resident David Stark said while “caution is often a very good thing,” he told Hamilton City Council this week the prohibition should end.

“It has now been some 533 days since the citizens of Ohio voted overwhelmingly in support of legalizing marijuana,” said Stark, who has started the Hamilton Can Cannabis campaign. “You don’t need to see online polls to know that it’s true, you can literally smell it in the air, weed is here, regardless of how we may feel.”

Resident Candice White, who is on Hamilton Planning Commission and Juneteenth celebration, said she understands “there are certain sensibilities that are hard to break,” but delaying efforts to allow the retail sale of marijuana in Hamilton will drive business and tax dollars to neighboring communities.

“I believe those dollars should stay in Hamilton to continue contributing to our city’s growth and prosperity,” White said. “This is an opportunity to embrace change and ensure Hamilton benefits from the growing industry.”

City Manager Craig Bucheit said the city’s marijuana prohibitions date back to 2015 for medical use and 2023 for recreation use, but staff has been working through Hamilton’s Ordinance Review Commission “to update and review the current prohibition.”

Following a February meeting, the Ordinance Review Commission asked for additional information, including zoning and business regulations, before it can make a recommendation on lifting or amending the prohibition. The commission is expected to reconvene on May 14 where data and information gathered, including site visits to facilities in Southwest Ohio, will be presented.

“It’s important that any consideration to altering the current prohibition is done in a very measured way as a neighboring or an adjoining community here in Butler County is dealing with litigation based on their prohibition and lifting of that prohibition,” Bucheit said.

That neighboring community is the city of Fairfield, according to court records. Fairfield denied the claims alleged by Shangri-La, which operates two dispensaries in Monroe, it “acted illegally” in denying its permits, according to the city’s response to the court.