By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — Greenville Mayor Jeff Whitaker made a push to ban cannabis dispensaries within the city, but Greenville City Council was hesitant to follow through with the mayor’s wishes at the regular meeting of the council on Tuesday, Aug. 20.

An ordinance that would impose a permanent moratorium on the issuance of permits allowing recreational adult use cannabis was on the agenda. The ordinance states the council, and the mayor of Greenville determined that adult-use recreational marijuana operators, including cultivators, processors and dispensaries do not promote and provide for the public peace, health, safety and prosperity of Greenville’s residents and wish to prohibit operators pursuant to the authority provided in ORC 3780.25.

However, several council members argued the city should slow down and take a closer look at the issue.

City Law Director Michael Rieman said, “We currently have a temporary moratorium on recreational marijuana sales. There is legislation tonight that would make that a permanent ban on recreational marijuana sales for cultivation and sales within the city on a commercial basis.” He added it permanently extends the one-year moratorium that is currently in place. City council voted last December to place the moratorium on commercial cultivation and sales.

Councilperson Delores Eley asked, “Since the citizens of the state of Ohio passed recreational marijuana, where do we fall in line with their criteria of allowing that or not allowing that?” Rieman explained the Ohio Revised Code allows the use of it, but also allows communities to opt out of allowing dispensaries in their communities. Voters approved the legalization of recreational marijuana last year.

Councilman Greg White asked why the city believes a moratorium is the right direction for the city. Rieman said, “There’s no right or wrong answer. I don’t think there’s a ton of data regarding the benefits or the negatives of it. Ultimately, it is your vote as to whether it is the right or wrong approach.”

White added, “By having a moratorium makes it not possible, but by not having a moratorium makes it possible, but doesn’t make it happen. Is that the right way of saying it? Rieman said that was potentially correct, but he believes they would run into zoning issues. “Currently in our planning and zoning it is not specifically addressed,” he said. The city does have regulations on medical marijuana dispensaries, but not recreational marijuana dispensaries.

White asked if the city would be better off with regulations to move forward or with an outright ban on dispensaries. Rieman said he was asked to draft the legislation to bring to council, but it is up to council to decide. “The mayor, at the last meeting, asked me to draft legislation that would prohibit recreational sales. That’s where we are at. That’s my role in this process,” said Rieman.

Eley said she would like to see it go through the channels.

Mayor Whitaker explained the reason he asked for the legislation, “How do we have drug education and drug awareness programs in our school, yet we allow dispensaries within the city limits and sell it for recreational use? That’s the question.” White asked, “Don’t we also talk to kids and educate them on the effects of using alcohol? I’m just trying to draw a comparison.”

Whitaker responded, “I can only base my thoughts and my opinions on personal experience, and it wasn’t pretty. I don’t want to go any further than that.”

Councilman Clarence Godwin looked at the issue from a financial perspective. He said he tried to reach out to a couple of cities this week to try and figure out what the income to the city would be if they had a dispensary. He said he knew of people that would drive to Michigan to get it and now Piqua has a dispensary, and people will drive there to get it. “It’s money the city is not getting,” he said. “It’s going to Piqua, it’s going to Dayton, it’s going wherever. Who’s to say that another town around here won’t get it,” he added. It was noted the Village of Versailles has already approved a permanent moratorium, but it was unclear if any other communities have followed suit.

After hearing the first reading of the ordinance, the council chose not to suspend the rules and hear the second and third reading of the ordinance. Instead, Councilperson Eley made a motion to send the issue to the city’s planning and zoning commission and allow them to develop regulations for recreational marijuana dispensaries.

Following the meeting, Rieman and Whitaker were asked if it was possible to put the issue of a permanent moratorium on the ballot and let the residents decide the issue. Rieman said he believes it can, but it doesn’t have to follow that route. Whitaker said, “The challenge is putting it on the ballot, it’s an endeavor that’s costly.” He pointed to the vote totals in Darke County as to why he believes the moratorium is the right direction. “In Darke County, it (recreational use) got defeated 61 percent. And in Greenville, it got defeated 52 (percent), I did the numbers.” He believes the people that wanted to legalize recreational marijuana went to the polls more so than those that didn’t. “It’s an indicator that the majority of people don’t want it.” The issue appeared on the November ballot and Darke County had 53 percent turnout for that election.

Mayor Whitaker released the following statement on Wednesday afternoon, “Although in Darke County, with a voter turnout of 53.26 percent in the November 7, 2023 election, recreational use of marijuana was defeated with 62.11 percent of the voters saying ‘NO’. In Greenville, 52.88 percent of the voters said ‘NO’. Although that’s a clear majority, members of Greenville City Council chose to push back on the ordinance presented before them to prohibit dispensaries, cultivators and processors of marijuana for recreational use within the corporation limits of the City of Greenville. One member stated that the reason for doing so was that it passed statewide, which unfortunately, it did. But who do these people represent? I believe the citizens locally in Greenville and Darke County have already spoken clearly on this issue in the last election, and Ohio Revised Code, Section 3780.25 authorizes a municipality to entirely prohibit it. How and why do we have drug education and drug awareness programs in our schools, yet allow dispensaries selling cannabis products for recreational use to operate within the city limits and sell it for recreational use? That’s the question. We need to be very careful regarding the future of this city, and the type of environment of which we are willing to permit within our community.”

Whitaker warned that if the council members don’t like the regulations presented by the planning and zoning commission, it will take a super majority to overrule their recommendation.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].