Decatur moves closer to approving medical marijuana dispensaries; council eases restrictions

Nov. 30—The Decatur City Council will vote next week on a less restrictive medical marijuana ordinance than previously introduced, substantially increasing the areas in the city where a dispensary could locate.

The state's medical marijuana law prohibits dispensaries from being within 1,000 feet of a school, day care or child care facility. As originally introduced, the Decatur ordinance would have applied the same 1,000-foot buffer zone to churches and residential areas.

The council on Monday voted 3-1 to revise the proposed ordinance so no buffer would be required between a dispensary and an R-4 (multi-family) zoning district and a 500-foot buffer must separate a dispensary from any other residential district. A dispensary could not locate within any residential district.

The council plans to vote on the revised ordinance Tuesday at its next regular meeting.

The amendment will create about 540 parcels throughout the city where a cannabis dispensary could locate, city officials said, as opposed to 200 parcels under the earlier version of the ordinance.

City Council President Jacob Ladner voted against the amendment, and District 1 Councilman Billy Jackson was absent from Monday's meeting.

"I have not supported anything about this ordinance from the beginning. I don't want them anywhere, so the buffer distance doesn't matter," Ladner said in explaining his vote.

Jackson said Tuesday that he will support the proposed ordinance and thinks a more restrictive ordinance is unnecessary.

"We're treating this thing like it is something terrible, like it is an opioid or a child molester or something," he said. "I see these dispensaries as a drug store, a Walgreens. They will help a lot of people who need them. I am all for helping people relieve their pain. Sure, some people may try to abuse this, but it is going to take a doctor's prescription to get these products."

Joey Robertson, president and partner of Wagon Trail Med-Serv, a hemp farm in Hanceville, said Tuesday afternoon he is actively seeking a location to set up business in five counties and municipalities, including Decatur.

He said the 540 parcels mentioned by city officials is "a bit misleading."

"Nearly all of those parcels aren't available," he said. "There are existing businesses located there. In reality, there are 10 to 15 viable spots where a dispensary can locate."

He declined to say where he plans to locate if he receives state approval.

He said the City Council's ordinance "has more restrictions than most places. ... It shows they are looking out for their residents."

Robertson called the application process "very competitive" with the state offering a maximum of one dispensary site in Morgan County and 37 statewide. "It's a mad land rush," he said. "There are about 400 groups statewide going after the same properties in the same (cities)."

The deadline for businesses to apply for a dispensary license is Dec. 30 and his company is seeking an integrated license, which would allow his Hanceville facility to cultivate cannabis, make its own product and dispense the product in its own dispensaries.

Robertson said companies applying for a dispensary license will have to secure the property through purchase, lease or a letter of intent from the property owner by the end of the year and hold it for at least seven months before the state makes its final decision June 12. He said the license fee is $50,000 per year.

Thirty-eight counties and municipalities, including Athens, had passed resolutions or ordinances authorizing dispensaries as of Tuesday.

"We have a genuine interest in Decatur," said Robertson, 42, who has lived in Cullman County his entire life but worked as an imaging tech in Decatur for four years.

He said a dispensary won't be like "a smoke and vape shop open on every corner. These dispensaries will serve people who medically need the cannabis. They'll have to have prescriptions to receive our product. It will help a lot of people."

Under Alabama's program, registered physicians may recommend medical marijuana to patients who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder; cancer-related pain or nausea; Crohn's disease; depression; epilepsy or conditions causing seizures; HIV/AIDS-related nausea or weight loss; panic disorder; Parkinson's disease; persistent nausea; post-traumatic stress disorder; sickle-cell anemia; spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury; Tourette's syndrome; a terminal illness; or conditions causing chronic or intractable pain.

"I'm heavily invested in it and passionate about it," Robertson said. "I plan to be there Dec. 6 when the council votes. I'm expecting a majority will support it."

mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.