MANSFIELD — Mansfield is open for business when it comes to recreational and medical cannabis dispensaries who want to locate here.
City Council, which opened the door for recreational cannabis in June, on Tuesday evening repealed a ban on medical marijuana that previous lawmakers instituted in 2017.
Ohio’s Division of Cannabis Control, created after the passage of State Issue 2 in November, has not yet licensed a dispensary in Mansfield.
But local lawmakers voted 5-3 Tuesday night to allow up to three dispensaries in the city, providing those businesses meet state requirements and also comply with existing city zoning codes for business districts.
Those licenses are expected to be issued for local operations in the next few weeks.
Also on Tuesday, council unanimously tabled indefinitely proposed cannabis dispensary-specific zoning regulations and rules of operation until those changes can move properly through the Planning Commission for review and then return to lawmakers for consideration.
That means those changes will not impact the first “wave” of dispensaries to arrive.
Council, which voted 5-3 in June against Mayor Jodie Perry’s requested six-month moratorium on such businesses, voted 6-2 on Tuesday to repeal the medical ban.
Third Ward Councilman Rev. El Akuchie and 6th Ward Councilwoman Deborah Mount voted against lifting the medical ban.
Prior to the vote, Perry said keeping the medical ban in place would not stop recreational dispensaries from coming to Mansfield.
“Because the moratorium was not passed, recreational-only dispensaries can come in now. When we’ve talking about this in the past, I did ask you to leave this (medical ban) on longer because most of the dispensaries that were coming to us were what’s called dual-use, meaning they would like to be able to do the medical and the recreational,” the mayor said.
After consultation with outside legal counsel, “What we have figured out is that we’re open, essentially,” she said.
“So if this repeal were not to go ahead tonight, that really doesn’t stop dispensaries from coming at all, it just means they’ll be recreational-only,” Perry said.
But the vote came only after a debate that centered largely on Akuchie and At-large Councilwoman Stephanie Zader.
“(The medical ban) was put in place by people who understand the dangerous impact cannabis poses in our community. It was right on that, not (a wrong choice) to be repealed. It was right then. It is right today,” said Akuchie, who voted in favor of the six-month mortarium in June.
“(The previous council) saw the green locomotive of the cannabis company speeding towards Mansfield and they voted to put up a huge red stop sign to protect our city from the destruction consequences of marijuana and other drugs,” he said.
“They saw the elusive green dollars of the cannabis industries, but they did not fall for it,” Akuchie said.
“Only God knows how many souls that we saved from damage since 2017,” he said. “It’s not for me to roll out the red carpet for the cannabis industry. If I do that, I will be violating my own conscience.”
Zader, who cited the fact the majority of Mansfield residents supported State Issue 2, responded quickly.
“Let’s be clear on what we are voting on tonight. We’re not voting on our own morality. We’re not voting on our religious beliefs. We’re not voting on our political affiliations.
“We’re voting on whether someone for whom (cannabis) was deemed medically necessary by a qualified medical professional can go buy what was prescribed to them here, instead of driving 40-plus minutes away,” Zader said.
“We’re not voting on letting drug dealers sell drugs. We’re voting on regulated dispensaries and whether they’re going to be able to accept the medical card when (customers) come in.
“That (medical card) also, by the way, gives those people a reduced price because it’s medically approved for them. Cancer patients, veterans suffering with PTSD. Those are the people that we’re voting on, whether they can take their card, that their doctor said they could have, and go in and buy what was necessary,” Zader said.
“Are we gonna outlaw prescription drugs because they kill people, too?” she askeed.
In other activity Tuesday, City Council:
— voted to amend previously approved legislation honoring organizations that donated funds for a new flag and flag pole at Liberty Park. Donations of $2,700 each came from VFW Post 9943 and VFW Post 3494.
— voted to authorize the public works director to file an application for and accept a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Ohio Dept. of Transportation’s Office of Aviation to design construction plans to rehabilitate runway 14-32 at Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport. The work would be funded through 95 percent federal/state funds and 5 percent local funds.
— heard Zader announce she is resigning from office, effective Sept. 30, with more than a year left on her term.
