Centerville, Washington Twp. enact cannabis moratoriums
Nov. 29—Centerville and Washington Twp. are the newest Dayton-area communities to put a hold the cultivation, processing and retail sale of "adult use" cannabis.
The move comes just weeks after Ohio voters approved Issue 2, which legalized the growing, processing, selling and use of recreational marijuana.
"The state legislature is ... looking at that and may make some changes, but it allows cities to regulate the commercial cultivating, sale and distribution," Scott Liberman, Centerville's city attorney, told city council Nov. 20. "To give city staff a chance to research the legislation, it was my recommendation that we put a moratorium on, which cities in the state are doing so they may study the new regulations."
Centerville City Council on Nov. 20 unanimously approved a moratorium for nine months on adult-use cannabis.
"The one thing it does not put a moratorium on because we can't regulate it, deals with the (personal) possession, use and growing of marijuana," he said. "The state will regulate that."
Issue 2 takes effect Dec. 7, so Centerville enacted the moratorium "to study the pros and cons and evaluate how the state will move forward," Liberman said Tuesday.
Centerville also approved a resolution dealing with medical marijuana. The city previously had enacted a moratorium and allowed it to lapse, he said.
"At this time, since we're already studying recreational marijuana, we wanted to go ahead and include medical marijuana distribution and its sales as well," Liberman said.
Washington Twp. also approved a resolution dealing with marijuana, enacting on Nov. 20 a 360-day moratorium on the "cultivation, processing and retail sale of 'adult use' cannabis."
"Washington Township passed the emergency home rule resolution establishing a moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses to allow adequate review for the Township to consider the coming rules and regulations to be implemented by the Chapter 119 rulemaking process as well as any other changes adopted by the General Assembly and Governor," township Administrator Mike Thonnerieux told this news outlet Tuesday.
During the moratorium, Washington Twp. staff "are prohibited from issuing or processing any permits or approvals for any cannabis-related businesses such as cannabis-related cultivators, processors, or adult use dispensaries" within the township, according to the resolution.
