ORANGE, Ohio – Marijuana dispensaries will not be permitted in the village.
Village Council passed an ordinance Wednesday (March 12) that prohibits commercial activities related to the cultivation and sale of medical and recreational marijuana within the village’s corporate limits.
The legislation also prohibits “adult-use cannabis operators” within the village.
The vote was 5-2, with council members Philip Madden and Lisa Perry voting against the prohibition.
“After much research, many discussions with residents and knowing that the availability of dispensaries exists within three miles to our immediate north and south, I truly believe it is in the best interest of Orange Village to pass the prohibition,” said Councilwoman Staci Adelman Vincent, one of the five council members who voted in favor of the legislation.
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 permits 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 they wished to study and observe what regulations the state and local governments 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.
When this ordinance was introduced to council Feb. 12, council members encouraged residents to express their opinions about whether marijuana dispensaries should be permitted in the village.
Two residents who are opposed to such facilities spoke to council that evening.
Council opted to wait until third reading of the ordinance – which took place Wednesday – to allow more time for public comment.
No other residents spoke to council at meetings to express their views.
But several council members said Wednesday they had heard from a number of residents on the issue, including Council President Brent Silver, who said he received emails and calls on both sides.
“I do appreciate everyone reaching out on this,” Silver said.
“If we do pass this ordinance, it does not prevent people from going to other dispensaries in Woodmere, Solon or wherever else and bringing marijuana back to their house within the legal limits and doing what they want with it there, and growing it as well.”
Silver was referring to the AYR Dispensary on Chagrin Boulevard in Woodmere and a dispensary – which does business as The Botanist – expected to open on Aurora Road in Solon this year after receiving approval from Solon City Council in November.
Silver also pointed out before council voted that if the ordinance did not pass, and dispensaries were allowed in the village, “there’s a pretty slim chance” that one would open in Orange.
He said that was based on the fact that there currently is one in nearby Woodmere and limited available retail space in Orange.
‘Not in conflict with Issue 2’
Council members Kim Ullner and Ryan Bilsky joined Vincent in indicating that they would be voting in favor of the prohibition and explained why.
“My decision to vote for the dispensary prohibition is not in conflict with Issue 2, which passed overwhelmingly in the village and the state,” Vincent said.
“I accept that vote, and I do understand and sympathize with those who have a medical need for it.
“However, the state of Ohio controls how many dispensaries are permitted within (Cuyahoga) County and when.”
According to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, Issue 2 passed with 66.7 percent of the vote overall in the county and by a 69.9 percent margin in Orange.
On Feb. 12, Vincent told council that she learned from Andrew Makoski, chief legal counsel for the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Cannabis Control, that no new dispensaries will be granted in Cuyahoga County in “the next year plus.”
“That will give us to time to see what, if any, benefits come to our surrounding cities that do have dispensaries,” she said.
Vincent noted that the Ohio Legislature recently has challenged THC levels, numbers of marijuana plants and other issues related to dispensaries.
“I do not believe now is the time to abandon the safe practices we currently have in place for the community and most importantly for our children,” she said.
“I therefore feel comfortable with the strategy of having the ban in place at this time.”
Ullner, who has expressed strong support of the prohibition since early February, said she has heard from “numerous residents” who oppose allowing the dispensaries in the village.
“Overwhelmingly, I was hearing from people who do not want them,” she said.
“They just believe it’s not within the family-friendly nature of Orange Village.
“We don’t have any Walmarts; we don’t have any gun shops. There are lots of things we don’t have in Orange that are legal in the state of Ohio, and they don’t want them in Orange.”
Bilsky said he has “no problem” with people who use marijuana for recreational or medicinal purposes.
“Everybody should feel free to do what works for them,” he said.
“But if we have the option to pick and choose what is going to be placed here in the village, I feel in my gut (to vote in favor of the prohibition).”
Respecting village voters
Madden said he would be voting “no” on the ordinance because he wanted to respect the 70 percent of village electors who voted to legalize recreational marijuana.
“I also want to point out that there are products made from hemp that are federally permitted that have THC levels that do get people high, and those are for sale in Orange Village now,” he said.
“So I’m not sure what this prohibition (accomplishes).”
Perry did not speak on the issue Wednesday.
But on Feb. 12, she said, “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.
“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,” she said then.
Mayor Judson Kline, who also did not speak on the issue Wednesday, said Feb. 12 that he supported the prohibition.
Violators of any provision of the legislation will be guilty of a third-degree misdemeanor, the ordinance states.
Marijuana dispensaries will not be permitted in Orange. Village Council passed an ordinance Wednesday (March 12) that prohibits commercial activities related to the cultivation and sale of medical and recreational marijuana within the village’s corporate limits. Read More
