BY T.J. HUBBARD
GENERAL MANAGER
Members of the West Liberty Planning Committee conducted the third in a series of informational meetings Wednesday evening seeking input from officials and the public about the impact of a medical marijuana dispensary potentially being located in West Liberty.
Mayor Jill McKelvey, who was present at the meeting held in the Opera House, previously detailed at the Logan County Mayor’s Association meeting in October that she had been contacted by a firm interested in establishing a dispensary in the village. The name of the company or its principals was not disclosed at the meeting.
Other officials in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting included Patty Kauffman, village council member, Mitch Lingrell, president of West Liberty Business Association; Sgt. Tom Watson, Logan County Sheriff’s Office; Cecilia Yelton, director of School and Community-based Prevention for the Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol Services Board of Logan and Champaign Counties; Chris Jones, chief of the Macochee Joint Ambulance District; Brad Bodenmiller, director of the Logan-Union-Champaign Regional Planning Commission; Shane Oelker, West Liberty police chief; Shannon Maier and Jeremy Hankins, planning committee chairperson and member, respectively.
Bodenmiller gave an overview of how the village could regulate a potential dispensary through zoning laws.
In addition to dispensaries, there are three other types of permissible medical marijuana facilities — cultivators, processors and testing facilities, which are exempt from existing zoning laws, he said.
The village has three zoning options with respect to dispensaries, Bodenmiller noted. It could do nothing; it could chose to regulate through a use of conditions; or it could prohibit them.
The “do nothing” option would make it possible for a dispensary to be placed in retail areas of the village under existing zoning laws. Prohibiting a dispensary or regulating use through zoning are permanent options and cannot be reversed, he said.
Logan County is part of the Southwest Region District 3, which also includes Miami and Shelby counties. This district is one of three pharmacy dispensary districts in Ohio that currently does not have a medical marijuana dispensary.
The district has two state licenses available, which are required to operate a dispensary.
Dispensaries located near West Liberty include sites in Columbus, Dayton, Marion, Springfield and Wapakoneta.
Bodenmiller said the village has to base its zoning rules for dispensaries on what the state gives the authority to zone. He also noted that under the Ohio Revised Code, dispensaries are not permitted to be located within 500 feet of a school, church, daycare, public library, playground or park.
The LUC director said it is better to regulate the dispensary through zoning rules which are continually updated rather than as an ordinance, which could be forgotten over time.
Sgt. Watson, who also serves with the county’s drug taskforce, said his agency has no official stance on medical marijuana dispensaries and understands there is a need for them. The LCSO reached out to Auglaize County to see how the dispensary has impacted the Wapakoneta community. Although law enforcement there has noticed increased traffic in connection to the dispensary, they haven’t seen an increase in crime because of it, he said.
An area where dispensaries do concern local law enforcement is in proposed Ohio Senate Bill 261. If passed, the bill would change oversight authority over dispensary from the State of Board of Pharmacy to the Ohio Department of Commerce, a move which would lessen requirements on physicians to prescribe medical marijuana. The change, will reduce oversight of the facilities in general, he said.
It (the passage of SB 261) could be a “pathway” for the legalization of recreational use, which the sheriff’s office opposes.
Yelton touched on the economic impact and how the introduction of a dispensary into the community may negatively impact children and teens.
She said there are no special taxes accessed on medical marijuana dispensaries that West Liberty would receive if one were located in village. The village would only get 1.5 percent of the sales tax it currently receives from the county, she noted.
Marijuana is the most frequently used illicit substance in our country with dependency found in 1 in 11 adults and 1 in 6 youth, according to a handout she provided.
The MHDAS staff member said a dispensary could contribute to risk factors of young people in the community engaging in drug use, such as easier access and increased visibility. She also related a dispensary could add to the already serious mental health issues in the county with one in four children here reporting depression in the last month and one in five saying they have attempted suicide.
Lingrell questioned if Yelton’s statistics were based on illicit drug use or on use through a licensed dispensary. Yelton responded there was no legal drug use for anyone under 18, but that her statistics were based on illicit drug use.
Jones said the introduction of any operation like a dispensary could lead to increased calls for emergency services, but he didn’t feel the impact of having one would be significant as far as the ambulance district was concerned.
Police Chief Oelker said he shares the concerns of the sheriff’s office about SB 261. He also highlighted another provision of the bill which would allow medical marijuana to be advertised on billboards and in other ways, which he felt might give the community a negative image.
He did not, however, believe a dispensary would greatly increase the number of calls for his department.
A handful of citizens and local clergy spoke out in opposition of having a dispensary in the village, citing reasons such as potential property value impact, negative community image, potential for increased crime, close proximity of other dispensaries, and potential for increased drug use by youth.
One concerned citizen said he was worried the process to locate a dispensary in the village was being “fast tracked” to circumvent voters. Both Hankins and Lingrell said that was not the case, and that the planning committee is continuing to study the issue and seeking public input before forwarding recommendations to the village council.
Maier said the committee was working diligently to study the issue, get community consensus, and get recommendations to council before a company could locate a dispensary in the village under existing zoning rules for a retail area.
Another informational session on this topic that is open to the pubic is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15, at the West Liberty Opera House.