“It’s still an unknow. I’d rather somebody else trip and fall a few times before we decide,’’ said Trustee Steve Schramm. “Do we put a toe in the water, our whole foot, or jump in?”
In September, Fairfield City Council enacted zoning changes that would allow one business to dispense both medical and recreational marijuana in the city, which must be located along Ohio 4 in a general business or special entertainment district.
Last December West Chester Twp. voted to put a 360-day ban on the cultivation, processing or sale of marijuana in the township. Monroe already has dispensaries operating.
Oxford’s medical dispensary opened in early 2023 and another has been granted provisional recreational licenses by the state. Two businesses have submitted permits to open dispensaries in Middletown. Last June Hamilton voted to continue its moratorium indefinitely.
“We’re just kind of standing by and waiting,’’ said Todd Minniear, president of the board of trustees. “It’s not a use in the township that we feel like is … urgent to implement – if at all.”
Ohio voters approved making adult-use cannabis legal Nov. 7, 2023, becoming the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana use. Medical marijuana became legal in Ohio in 2016.
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