ONTARIO – Ontario Council will vote June 6 on its third temporary ban regarding medical marijuana-related facilities within the city.
Council read the legislation for the second time May 16, but did not attempt to suspend the rules that require three separate readings on three separate days. Council can pass legislation early if enough members vote to do so.
Earlier this month, the decision was held off when too few council members voted to suspend the rules.
Five of the city’s six council members were ready to put it to a vote at the May 2 meeting, but second-ward councilwoman Michelle Webb said, “no” to making an early decision about the six-month ban on medical marijuana cultivators, processors and dispensaries.
With the absence of at-large councilman Larry Arnold, Webb’s vote was enough to delay the possible ban.
On Wednesday night everyone was present, but no one attempted to bring it to an early vote.
Webb had shared her opinion after the May 2 meeting. She intends to vote against the ban, as she did in June 2017.
“(Medical marijuana is) no different than any other prescription medication,” Webb said. “If we called it something other than medical marijuana, no one would be having this heartburn with it.”
She attributed her opinion to personal experiences with cancer and in law enforcement. Webb says she was fortunate enough to avoid chemotherapy, but has seen family members with chronic pain who could use medical marijuana.
“I’d rather see them use medical marijuana than be on Oxycodone, or Oxycontin, or something way more addictive and that has a lot more side effects than, in my opinion, medical marijuana would ever have,” Webb said.
She added the high associated with marijuana isn’t achieved through medical marijuana. In 22 years of law enforcement, she consistently saw more alcohol-related issues than ones associated with marijuana.
“It’s not any more a gateway drug than alcohol is,” she said. “We need to teach our kids – just like you would with any other prescription – that this (medical marijuana) is not something you’re entitled to or you have access to.”
She believes other council members may hope to see finalized Ohio laws regarding medical marijuana before voting against a ban.
“I think that’s a lot of where they come from here, let’s let Ohio figure it out first, and then, let something come in … I did a lot of research at the time on the way Ohio was going to do things, and it looked pretty stringent,” she said.
The idea to renew the six-month ban was discussed briefly at an April council meeting after President James Hellinger brought it to council’s attention. Council’s most recent ban expired Dec. 21, 2017. It was passed in June 2017.
Its first medical marijuana ban ran from September 2016 to March 2017. Before the ban was renewed in June, a medical marijuana cultivation facility approached Ontario. 4Front Ventures promised to bring 43 jobs with a $1.7 million payroll, but the company received a “no by default,” shortly before the second six-month ban was passed.
