Worthington OKs marijuana dispensaries as recreational sales set to begin in Ohio
Worthington ended a seven-year ban on legal marijuana dispensing just before adult-use weed sales are expected to begin in Ohio.
Worthington City Council approved two resolutions Monday to permit adult-use and medical marijuana dispensing but prohibit commercial cultivation and processing.
More: Why haven't Ohio recreational marijuana sales started yet?
Worthington banned medical marijuana dispensing, cultivation and processing in 2017, a year after Ohio legalized it for medical purposes.
This action by Worthington City Council is unlike some other suburbs in the area that have created temporary bans for adult-use marijuana ahead of sales that are expected to begin soon.
For example, Westerville and Dublin passed temporary bans on adult-use marijuana this summer joining many other cities in the state, The Dispatch previously reported. The purpose of these bans is to address uncertainties of the new industry.
When will recreational marijuana sales begin?
Over 100 provisional dual-use licenses have been approved for existing medical marijuana businesses by the Division of Cannabis Control. Those businesses still have to take a few steps before sales can begin, including training employees and notifying law enforcement, The Dispatch previously reported.
The state is required to approve dual-use licenses by September, but businesses have said they expect adult-use sales to begin before the summer ends.
When will dispensaries pop up in Worthington?
The first licenses for adult-use marijuana were handed out to medical dispensaries who were looking to expand into adult-use. Because of Worthington’s ban on medical dispensing, there are none in the city, so eager residents will still have to venture out to get their day-one weed.
Why is Worthington prohibiting cultivation and processing?
The city manager’s office gave City Council pro-con recommendations for how to proceed with legal marijuana at the July 10 council meeting. Cultivation and processing cons noted that the city would not get additional tax revenue taxes like it would with dispensing. It also noted there were odor complaints associated with processing and cultivation businesses.
DHunt@dispatch.com
More: 55 Ohio towns will ban recreational marijuana sales despite legalization. See where they are
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Worthington approves recreational, medical marijuana dispensaries
