COLD SPRING, Ky. — The Cold Spring City Council will not send medical cannabis to the ballot for residents to decide.
The deadline to send the measure to the ballot is August 13. At its meeting on July 22, the city council expressed interest in having its planning and zoning commission create regulations for potential dispensaries. They will further discuss the issue at their next caucus meeting on Aug. 26.
Cold Spring City Council Member Lisa Cavanaugh said she has spoken with roughly 200 residents and guessed that 98% would like it on the ballot.
“Based on the people that I’ve talked to, I think this is an issue that residents should vote on, and residents don’t get the opportunity that often to get to vote on something,” Cavanaugh said. “I think this is something that residents should get to vote on for our little town.”
Cavanaugh said if the city doesn’t send it to the ballot, then she would vote no on allowing medical cannabis operations in the city.
Cold Spring City Council Member Adam Sandfoss said he wasn’t in favor of sending it to the ballot but was in favor of having the planning and zoning commission set regulations. Though Sandfoss said he didn’t think Cold Spring was the best place for a dispensary in Campbell County, he said he didn’t think they should outright ban them.
“I have no problem sending this to planning and zoning as far as the zoning goes to see if there are regulations we want to impose as far as how close to a school or this or that,” Sandfoss said. “As far as going to the ballot. This has already passed through Frankfort as far as the legalization of this. We get elected for a reason.”
Medical cannabis will be legal in the state effective Jan. 1, 2025. Each city is responsible for creating the zoning regulations to either make way or not allow those types of businesses to operate.
Sandfoss said he didn’t see the difference between having alcohol, vape stores and pharmacies prescribing narcotics in the city versus a dispensary.
“I think there is a stereotype when it comes to medicinal marijuana getting confused with recreational marijuana and what it means,” he said.
Campbell County voted to prohibit medical cannabis businesses in early June to give each city more time to develop its own regulations. In the future, individual cities and the county have the option to opt in.
Council members Cindy Moore and Chris Ampfer said they agreed with Sandfoss. Council member Dave Guidugli said he had only spoken with a few people, but they didn’t express interest in putting it on the ballot.
“I think it’s more of a matter of policy,” council member Paul Kloeker said. “We’re not discouraging any kind of business. I don’t vape, but I don’t have a problem with vape stores. I don’t really drink, but I don’t have a problem with liquor stores. I’m not going to use the medical marijuana, but I’m not against having them here.”
Mark Schroer, a doctor specializing in internal medicine, spoke at the meeting against approving medical cannabis.
Schroer has also served on the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensures by appointment from the governor and is currently a Northern Kentucky Health Department board member.
He said he recommended waiting until science could catch up with politics.
“There may be great promise for the use of medical marijuana in the future, but we don’t know that just yet,” Schroer said. “We need further time and study to look at this.”
In terms of the health aspects of medical marijuana, Schroer said it was “sketchy.” He told the council to take their time on the issue and look at it closely.
Across all of Kentucky, the state will issue 10 licenses for cannabis processors and 48 licenses will be available for dispensaries.
Those licenses will be issued in 11 regions across the commonwealth; each region will initially be granted at least four dispensary licenses. However, no more than one dispensary can be located in each county — the only exception to this rule being Kentucky’s two largest counties, Jefferson and Fayette.
This story originally appeared on linknky.com.
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