[In the player above, watch previous FOX 8 News coverage on legislative efforts to change Ohio’s new recreational marijuana law.]
BRUNSWICK, Ohio (WJW) — City officials in Brunswick won’t allow new recreational cannabis facilities, at least for the next six months, while the state continues its regulatory and licensing work for the newly created industry.
City council members at a Dec. 18 meeting voted unanimously for a temporary moratorium on new cannabis operators popping up in the city following voters’ passage of Issue 2, the state’s new recreational marijuana law, which took effect on Dec. 7.
The emergency ordinance took effect immediately, barring the cultivation, processing or sale of recreational cannabis inside city limits for six months. During that time, the city won’t be issuing new building permits or occupancy certificates for cannabis facilities and won’t allow existing businesses to expand into cannabis operations.
Issue 2 lets local governments decide whether to ban establishment of new cannabis operators within their borders but it doesn’t allow them to oust existing operators.
North Olmsted council members earlier this month approved a permanent ban.
There are no cannabis dispensaries, processors or cultivators currently licensed to operate in Brunswick, according to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program. There are more than 100 dispensaries across Ohio, including 33 in Northeast Ohio.
The state’s cannabis control division is expected to continue making rules for the industry and licensing facilities over the coming year. Non-medical cannabis isn’t expected to be ready for sale until later in the new year.
Could the law change?
Brunswick’s ordinance notes Issue 2 “remains subject to potential revision and/or [repeal]” by state legislators. Two competing pieces of legislation now pending in the Ohio House will change how recreational cannabis works in Ohio, if either is passed into law:
- Substitute House Bill 86 was passed by the Senate and now awaits a House vote, which legislators suggested won’t happen until early next year.
- House Bill 354 is still being revised in a House committee, and it’s unclear when it could get a floor vote.