Zanesville City Council Tackles Medical Marijuana

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- With Ohio’s medical marijuana law going into effect next month, and in order to better regulate it, Zanesville City Council has proposed a temporary prohibition on the cultivating, processing and selling of medical marijuana in the city.

The ordinance is to impose a prohibition for up to one year on the starting and processing of any permits that allow retail dispensaries, cultivators, or processors of medical marijuana within the city limits.

Jay Bennett, Public Service & Development Director for the City of Zanesville said the city would have to set aside plans and zoning codes for all new developments and businesses that come through the city.

“That allows City Council and the city government to just call a time out, take a little time and as staff, we would research and look at our codes and watch what’s happening at the state level.”

Bennett said that the state law requires a convening of departments and committees that will put together regulations around licensing for medical marijuana.

“This moratorium, if adopted by council, would call timeout and allow us to go through our processes, which is create legislation around it.”

Bennett said that this is the first step in the process of assuring that when the law goes into effect, the City of Zanesville will have a plan on how to regulate it.