As some Ohio municipalities are banning medical marijuana dispensaries, one central Ohio village is keeping an open mind.
The Johnstown Village Council voted 6-1 to approve a resolution not prohibiting medical dispensaries from operating in the town, WBNS-10TV reports. Village Manager Jim Lenner said the industry could benefit the small town’s local economy. He pointed to a vacant 150-acre space in the city limits that could serve as a cannabis campus – used for cultivation, production, testing, and research and development. The site neighbors an Apeks Supercritical facility.
“It kind of tells them we’re open to the idea. We’re not going to shut you down,” Lenner said in the report. “All we’re simply saying is ‘let’s keep it open.’ Let’s keep the door open and see if we can help our community with increased tax revenue, jobs.”
The cities of Lakewood, Troy, Brooklyn, and Tipp City have each enacted 180-day bans on medical cannabis businesses. Beaver Creek, Lima, Brecksville and North Royalton are working on comparable moratoriums. Rocky River has enacted a full-on ban, and Upper Arlington is considering the same.
The medical cannabis law takes effect on Sept. 8; however, officials do not plan for the program to be rolled out until Sept. 2018.
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