Pubdate: Tue, 12 Jul 2016
Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL)
Copyright: 2016 Orlando Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.orlandosentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325
Note: Rarely prints out-of-state LTEs.
Author: Jeff Weiner

CITY VOTES FOR PAUSE ON POT DISPENSARIES

Orlando commissioners voted to approve a temporary moratorium on 
marijuana dispensaries in the city Monday, months before Florida 
voters will again weigh in on medical uses for the drug.

The City Council vote comes after three would-be sellers of either 
medicinal marijuana or the low-THC oil known as Charlotte's Web have 
recently expressed interest in Orlando storefronts where current 
zoning would allow them.

"We're not trying to keep them from doing business in the city," 
District 3 City Commissioner Robert Stuart said Monday. "We're 
looking at: What are the boundaries in which they would do that?"

If it passes a second vote July 25, the moratorium would last through Dec. 31.

In the meantime, city planning officials would study the potential 
impacts of marijuana distributors, including whether they should be 
kept at arm's length from neighborhoods, churches or schools.

"Our zoning code, of course, was written well before anyone imagined 
marijuana dispensaries being legal," Assistant City Attorney Kyle 
Shephard said.

After the Legislature in 2014 legalized a non-euphoric version of 
marijuana used to treat children with seizures, the city determined 
that, under its current rules, dispensaries would fit into the same 
category as a drugstore, like Walgreens or CVS.

In November, Florida voters will consider a referendum to decide 
whether to legalize pot for treatment of many other maladies.

"You're dealing with a industry in which the state of Florida has 
said, you have to treat them like a drugstore and ... the federal 
government has said, it's illegal," Stuart said. "So we're all trying 
to navigate these waters."

So far, the city has issued preliminary approval for three sites in 
District 3: one on Orange Avenue near Winter Park; another on Orange 
Blossom Trail near Lake Fairview; and a third on Edgewater Drive in 
College Park.

Several South Florida cities and counties have adopted similar 
moratoriums, including North Lauderdale and Boca Raton.

Others, including Oakland Park, Weston, Miramar and Plantation, 
already have specific zoning laws in place.

Existing state laws strictly limit who can grow and sell legal forms 
of the drug.

The 2014 law allowed up to five regional nurseries to be authorized 
by the Florida Department of Health.

When the Legislature expanded the law this year, it opened the door 
for up to three more. Currently, the state has six in total.

The updated law's language established that cities can limit the 
number and location of distribution facilities within their borders, 
as long as they do not conflict with state law.

That's what Orlando hopes to do, city officials said.

If the moratorium is approved later this month, planning officials 
would be required to present their findings to the City Council no 
later than Dec. 1.

"We need to study this, before we move any further with it," said 
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom