ORANGE, Ohio – Village Council members are encouraging residents to express their opinions about whether marijuana dispensaries should be permitted in the village.
Two residents who are opposed to such facilities in the village spoke to council Wednesday (Feb. 12), when an ordinance was introduced that would prohibit commercial activities related to cultivation and sale of medical and recreational marijuana within the village’s corporate limits.
At council’s previous meeting Feb. 5, it had voted to direct Law Director Stephen Byron to draft an ordinance prohibiting marijuana businesses in the village.
Council members felt compelled to take action in response to the passage of Issue 2 – which legalized recreational marijuana statewide – in November 2023.
The initiated statute took effect Dec. 7, 2023.
The statute does permit local authorities to ban or restrict marijuana sales in their communities.
Last year, council passed two moratoriums of six months each on accepting for filing, reviewing and approving applications for marijuana sales and related activities in the village.
Council members said that they wished to study and observe what regulations the state and local governments in the area plan to enact and what effects such regulations would have on local communities before making a decision.
The second of these moratoriums expired Dec. 31.
Council left the ordinance on first reading Wednesday to allow more time for public comment.
Council President Brent Silver said there will be two more meetings, March 5 and March 12, at which residents can express their views on the issue before council votes on third reading.
Residents express concerns
Dr. William Goldman – a resident, a father and a physician who specializes in pediatrics and addiction medicine – spoke to council about the increased THC concentrations in marijuana, especially as it relates to children.
Goldman said before 1992, THC concentration in marijuana was only at 4.5 percent at the highest level.
“With the legalization movement and the movement toward having these dispensaries, we’re seeing concentrations in THC between 30 and 40 percent,” he said. “That’s what generated this kind of movement.”
Legally, THC concentrations in edible marijuana products are only supposed to be sold at up to 75 percent, Goldman said.
“But we know they could be closer to 90 percent,” he said.
Goldman said he is concerned about the dangers of these increased THC concentrations on “youth and developing brains,” as human brains are still being developed up to age 26.
“Also, if you’d like to talk about revenue and the differences between recreational vs. medical (marijuana), there are different rules around the taxation,” he said.
“If you compare it to what Michigan produces revenue-wise, I know Michigan is cheaper than whatever Ohio is going to offer for recreational use.”
Goldman recommended that council members read a book titled “Tell Your Children: Marijuana, Mental Illness and Violence” by Alex Berenson before deciding about whether to allow marijuana dispensaries.
“It goes through a little bit of how we got here and some of the concerns that we see now that we’re here,” he said.
“I know a lot of people voted that they do want this, but (it’s important to) understand the long-term applications of the decisions we make as a community.”
According to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, Issue 2 passed with 66.7 percent of the vote overall in Cuyahoga County and by a 69.9 percent margin in Orange.
Resident Miki Beachler asked council, “Why does anyone think that we need this?”
“I don’t think this is an environment that we want to encourage in Orange Village,” she said.
“Just because a law was passed doesn’t mean we should do something. Kind of the old adage, if a friend jumps off a bridge, are you going to jump in after them?”
Beachler noted that there is a marijuana dispensary in nearby Woodmere: AYR Dispensary on Chagrin Boulevard.
“It concerns me because I know that place has constant security, so that is concerning about who’s shopping there,” she said. “Why do they need 24-hour security?”
Beachler said she doesn’t believe a marijuana dispensary would fit with the character of the village.
“It’s just really not a necessary thing, and I think it’s kind of absurd that we have to waste our time with the Village Council talking about this,” she said.
“I definitely say this should not be allowed, and I hope that you vote accordingly.”
Vincent seeks more information
Two council members – Staci Adelman Vincent and Kim Ullner – have said that they intend to vote in favor of the prohibition.
Vincent said that she does not personally support marijuana use or having a dispensary in the village, having seen the dangers of it “firsthand.”
But she also said that she could possibly be swayed to change her vote if, after hearing from residents on both sides of the issue, “something dramatic changes to convince me otherwise.”
To that end, Vincent said she wanted to obtain more information, “to at least understand what is available and not available to us.”So she spoke at length to attorney Andrew Makoski, chief legal counsel for the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Cannabis Control.
“This department does not promote nor discourage dispensaries,” she said. “Their role is to license and regulate medical and non-medical cannabis cultivators, processors, testing laboratories and dispensaries with a focus on the restrictions and laws that come into play with regard to the placement and regulation of these dispensaries.”
Vincent said Makoski helped her to understand how, where and when dispensaries operate in Ohio.
“As I understand it, Ohio has restricted the total number of dispensaries to slightly more than 300 across the state,” she said. “This is in comparison to about 750 dispensaries in Michigan and thousands, for example, in Washington state.
“All of those in Ohio have already been assigned to regions with specific rules as to proximity to other dispensaries and facilities where they are prohibited, such as schools, churches, etc.,” she continued.
“Only about 20 dispensaries are still open to selecting sites within their designated regions, but none of those 20 will be in Cuyahoga County, as the number in our county was already capped for a two-year period.”
As a result, Vincent said, there won’t be a dispensary opening in Orange for at least 16 months – ban or no ban – unless the one in Woodmere or the one expected to open this year on Aurora Road in Solon would choose to relocate.
“I am told that the only way a dispensary could request and obtain a space in Cuyahoga County is if they were already established in the county and looking to move to another area within the county,” she said.
Vincent said she believes that if council were to place a ban on dispensaries, it could always decide to remove the ban “if we felt, down the line, that it would be advantageous for some reason or based on our residents’ preferences to have a dispensary in our town.”
“As I see it, it could be more beneficial to us to have a ban in place that could be removed than to add a ban once a dispensary has begun the process of opening and operating locally,” she said.
Vincent said she doesn’t want to discount the high percentage of voters in the area who voted in favor of Issue 2. She also said she understands that the vote wasn’t specifically about a dispensary in the village but about marijuana use itself.
“That said, I thank the residents who came forward tonight, and I encourage all of our residents who have strong opinions on either side, over the course of the next month, to reach out to us on council to let us know where you stand on this issue,” she said.
“It is so important that we hear from you.”
Vincent said she would be happy to share the contact information for her source with the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control with anyone who wishes to be better informed. She added that she has provided that information to Clerk of Council Anna Girardi if anyone wants to contact her.
Ullner: ‘Nothing will change my mind’
Ullner was more emphatic than Vincent about her stance on the issue.
“I do intend to vote in favor of the prohibition, and there is nothing that will change my mind,” she said.
Ullner said two council members on Feb. 5 made much of the fact that voters in the village voted decisively to legalize recreational marijuana usage in the state.
“We are now discussing whether to prohibit the sale – not the use – of marijuana in our village,” she said.
“The issues should not be conflated. They are not the same.
“As an aside, I’ve heard from some people who voted for that who later said that they didn’t understand what they were voting for. It was a bit confusing to some people.”
Ullner said perhaps if marijuana were not readily available in Woodmere, one could argue that not permitting a dispensary in Orange “somehow might trample the rights of our Orange Village citizens.”
“But there is a dispensary readily available in Woodmere,” she said. “So those who wish to partake can easily do so. Their rights are not impeded in any way.
“However, those of our citizens who do not want a dispensary in Orange, or at all, should not be totally disregarded. What about their rights?”
Ullner said she is also concerned about “the message that this sends to our kids.”
“We were elected to make decisions that are in the best interests of our residents, including our kids who are not able to vote,” she said.
“Our kids are listening to us, and I think it’s important that we send a message about what is acceptable or not.”
Ullner credited Goldman with doing “an excellent job of talking about the concentrations of THC and how it is significantly stronger than it used to be.”
“As one resident told me, ‘Lots of things are legal, but we don’t have or want them in a small village which is family oriented, especially when something similar is available nearby,’” she said.
“Gentlemen’s clubs are legal in Ohio, but we don’t want one here in Orange Village.”
Madden: It’s about ‘harm reduction’
Council members Philip Madden and Lisa Perry both made it clear that they do not support the prohibition.
“I understand how a lot of us feel about marijuana use,” Madden said. “But one of the reasons (Issue 2) passed is about harm reduction.”
Madden said in legalizing recreational marijuana statewide, “We are taking the marijuana business out of the hands of the black market and providing a safer alternative.”
“When you buy it (in a dispensary), there’s a whole breakdown of what’s in it,” he said. “So yes, it’s a higher percentage (of THC concentration), but people know what those percentages are.
“I feel that the populace did understand (Issue 2) for the most part and voted for this at a pretty high rate. So it feels slightly hypocritical to say, ‘Yes, we can have this, but not in my backyard.’”
Perry said she agrees with Madden completely.
“I am not a cannabis consumer,” she said. “I don’t really like it.
“But I think that we have to respect that the people came out and voted very strongly to allow cannabis sales, and it seems heavy handed and Big Brother-ish to me for us to put this limitation on.”
Perry acknowledged that with Woodmere having a dispensary and Solon about to get one, “that pretty much says we’re not going to have one.”
“But I don’t like the bandwagon that people are jumping on to try to restrict the sale of marijuana for so many people who really want to see it,” she said.
“Dr. Goldman, I agree that I don’t think children and young adults should be consuming marijuana. But it’s the same argument with alcohol and other drugs. They get it either way.
“I think it’s our responsibility to listen to what our residents want, to not put our personal feelings ahead of what is already law. So I will vote no.”
Orange Village Council members are encouraging residents to express their opinions about whether marijuana dispensaries should be permitted in the village. Read More
