JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The city has taken steps to make sure it will have a say in where legal medical marijuana could be sold in Jacksonville.
Starting next month, the state will start taking applications from businesses that want to start growing and distributing marijuana. Only five locations will be selected, one for each section of the state. If one of those chosen businesses is in Jacksonville, the city wants the right to say where it could go.
City leaders just passed an ordinance that puts a 180-day moratorium on any plan to locate a marijuana distributor or store in Jacksonville, until the City Council and the zoning office and city lawyers come up with a plan to say where it could be located.
In 2014, the state Legislature passed a law that allows for the use of certain kinds of medical marijuana that have low levels of THC, the chemical that produces a high.
These strains have higher levels of another compound that can help certain patients, like those with cancer or severe seizures or muscle spasms.
The Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014 allows for five dispensing organizations to grow and sell marijuana.
Lawsuits challenged who could do it, but those have been resolved. So starting next month, the Department of Health will begin taking applications from those who qualify.
The city wants to make sure it will be able to limit where one of these businesses could be located, if it were in Jacksonville.
The council believes not regulating where a marijuana business could go would have a serious adverse effect and cause harm to public health and safety.
The council also said the state law does not address the social, scientific, economic and health impacts to the city.
The city said it should restrict the location and construction of a marijuana facility, which is why the moratorium was issued.
That ordinance was approved by the council and now the studies will begin on where a facility could be located.
It's unclear if a distributor in Jacksonville will apply or be selected, but the city wants a plan in place, in case that happens.
Groups like Drug Free Duval applaud the council for taking action now.