{"id":178375,"date":"2024-04-23T03:49:09","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T08:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=178375"},"modified":"2024-04-24T03:47:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T08:47:10","slug":"council-addresses-pot-consumption-mulls-dispensaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2024\/04\/23\/council-addresses-pot-consumption-mulls-dispensaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Pot consumption, dispensaries addressed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clarification on marijuana consumption was made during Monday night\u2019s meeting of Van Wert City Council, but the matter of allowing recreational marijuana dispensaries appears to be far from settled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a special \u201cCouncil of the Whole\u201d meeting held before the regular meeting, council members discussed both topics and listened to input and questions from members of the public who attended the meeting. Approximately 20 people showed up for the meeting, but not all spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Law Director John Hatcher said the Ohio Legislature is still deciding on marijuana laws. Scott Truxell\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Many of the people in attendance seemed to agree on prohibiting marijuana consumption at places like city parks. One person suggested posting times when marijuana consumption would be allowed at parks, while another suggested treating consumption much the same as DORA (Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area), which is highly regulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council members later amended proposed legislation dealing with cannabis consumption and heard the second of three readings. The proposed ordinance was renamed \u201can ordinance banning the consumption of cannabis on all designated city properties.\u201d The list of designated properties includes Smiley Park, Jubilee Park, Franklin Park, Fountain Park, Rotary Park and the reservoir, along with city-owned parking lots on Central Ave. and Market Street, plus city-owned buildings, including the Municipal Building and Van Wert Municipal Court. A third and final reading\/vote is expected at the next meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Law Director John Hatcher pointed out the state legislature could still set a law that would limit all marijuana consumption to homes or private property, which would override any local law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnfortunately, most of the state\u2019s marijuana legislation is still pending,\u201d Hatcher stated. \u201cThey\u2019ve not come out with all of their guidelines on everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The subject of marijuana dispensaries was also discussed at the special meeting and the majority of those in attendance seemed to be in favor of allowing them within the city limits. Many spoke of having to drive to Wapakoneta or other nearby places, or even to Michigan to purchase medical marijuana and how having one closer would be a benefit. Van Wert currently has a law prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries and at an earlier meeting, Mayor Ken Markward recommended a similar ban on recreational dispensaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At-Large Councilwoman Judy Bowers said she\u2019s heard feedback in favor of dispensaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m hearing is if we have a dispensary, it would be safer for the people to purchase, because if they get it from somebody else along the way, it may be laced with things that are not good for them,\u201d Bowers stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least three council members seemed to be open to the idea of a dispensary \u2013 Bowers, First Ward Councilman Jeff Agler, and At-Large Councilman Jeff Kallas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Wilson, who manages Vape and Smoke on Towne Center Blvd., said he represents two men who want to open a marijuana dispensary in the Van Wert area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are established already in Michigan, Illinois and New York and they know the laws, they\u2019re waiting for everything to roll out just like we all are to see what laws Ohio is going to put into place,\u201d Wilson told council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exactly when the Ohio Legislature approves all marijuana laws, along with licensing and revenue guidelines remains to be seen. It could come by the end of June or could stretch into the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others in attendance noted tax revenue from a dispensary or dispensaries would benefit the city, but City Auditor Erika Blackmore noted that as of now, it\u2019s unknown how much, if anything, the city might receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is no (state) legislation right now that says what the revenue can be used for,\u201d Blackmore explained. \u201cIt is going to be regulated, I can almost guarantee that. It\u2019s not in writing yet but it\u2019s almost guaranteed that it\u2019s going to go back to the State of Ohio\u2026now how the State of Ohio disperses that is not up to us. They could say \u2018you have to put all of this in a special revenue fund, you can only use it for this purpose,\u2019 or they could come in and say \u2018you have seven dispensaries in your city, here\u2019s your chunk of chance, use it for whatever you want.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know yet how that money is going to be spent, whether it\u2019s an excise tax, whether it\u2019s a sales tax \u2013 all sales tax goes to the county, the city would see none of that,\u201d she continued. \u201cIt\u2019s all going to depend on how how that legislation is written.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also noted during the meeting that the state will likely issue 2,000 licenses for recreational marijuana dispensaries statewide, including ones already licensed as medical marijuana providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toward the end of the dispensary discussion, Kallas said he wants to wait to see what Ohio law says before making a decision. After the meeting, Council President Thad Eikenbary said it\u2019s likely council will indeed wait on the state legislature before deciding whether or not to allow a dispensary or dispensaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By a 57-43 percent margin, Ohio voters approved recreational marijuana during the November, 2023 general election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check Wednesday\u2019s News page for more information on Van Wert City Council\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor Clarification on marijuana consumption was made during Monday night\u2019s meeting of Van Wert City Council, but the matter of allowing recreational marijuana dispensaries appears to be far from settled. During a special \u201cCouncil of the Whole\u201d meeting held before the regular meeting, council members discussed both topics and listened to input and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-178375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-07 19:25:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178375"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178442,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178375\/revisions\/178442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}