HAMILTON, Ohio — Hamilton becomes the latest Southwest Ohio municipality to temporarily ban dispensaries just hours before recreational marijuana becomes legal in Ohio.
After hours of discussion, the Hamilton City Council on Wednesday unanimously passed ordinances temporarily banning dispensaries in town, pledging to revisit the ban in six months. Medical marijuana dispensaries are already banned.
#BREAKING: tldr, Hamilton passes two ordinances banning pot businesses and pledge to revisit in six months.
— Sean DeLancey (@SeanDeLanceyTV) December 7, 2023
That’s after multi-hour consideration and disagreement over the timeline as the state figures out what they’re changing ahead of recreational weed legalizing tomorrow@WCPO https://t.co/GZ1olKKwf9
Several Hamilton residents spoke during public comment. While multiple people expressed their concerns about how legalizing marijuana will impact children and other residents, some pointed out that banning dispensaries would give tax revenue to other cities.
Mayor Pat Moeller said council should be diligent in how it approaches any new ban as a significant number of Hamilton precincts, 17 of 18, voted to approve recreational marijuana legalization, but state lawmakers on both sides of the isle have been rushing to implement sweeping changes to the law ahead of Thursday's deadline.
"We are now in uncharted waters," Moeller told his fellow council members.
Council member Michael Ryan commented on how unclear the law is as state lawmakers continue to propose changes ahead of Issue 2's implementation. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday evening had a press conference where he pushed for changes to "make sure that this was done right, that the program (would be) implemented property."
RELATED | Ohio lawmakers propose changes before legalization of recreational marijuana begins
Ryan originally suggested there shouldn't be a timeline for the ban as it's not clear what the rules will end up looking like across the state.
"Wait until the state of Ohio gets their act together," Ryan said during the meeting.
Eventually, the council agreed on a six-month ban. Just one day ago, West Chester trustees decided on a 360-day moratorium on the cultivation, processing and sale of marijuana. Fairfield City Council decided Monday on a temporary ban through Sept. 10, 2024.
If there are no major changes to the legislation before Thursday, the current law states recreational dispensary sales in Ohio will launch next fall.
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