Another local community bans medical marijuana operations

Butler Twp. banned growing or selling medical marijuana after six months of temporary barring such businesses.

The township trustees approved the resolution Monday night, joining a growing list of Dayton-area communities that have temporarily or permanently prohibited these businesses ahead of the state planning to issue its first licenses for medical marijuana retail and cultivation.

The first medical marijuana businesses are supposed to be operational by September 2018. The state hasn’t decided yet who gets the licenses.

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Township administrator Erica Vogel said Tuesday that the trustees made it clear when they first started talking about this that they didn’t think they wanted medical marijuana grown in the township.

The township of 7,900 residents enacted the temporary ban in March after getting an inquiry from a prospective cultivator who was looking for a location to bid on a cultivators license for.

With the idea of medical marijuana is new to the community, Trustee Mike Lang said at the time that the township’s code does not adequately address the cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana and more time is needed to address the topic.

The resolution passed Monday notes that using or selling marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

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Other local governments besides Butler Twp. have passed similar resolutions.

Almost every community in Warren County passed a prohibition or moratorium. Oakwood and Middletown are among area municipalities where all land uses are prohibited. Hamilton banned only dispensaries.

Some communities have allowed proposals for cultivation sites to move forward, like in Huber Heights, Riverside, German Twp., Dayton, Yellow Springs, Mad River Twp., Monroe and Carlisle.

The Ohio Medical Marijuana Control program is currently reviewing 185 applications for 24 cultivation licenses.

RELATED: New rules set for medical marijuana use in Ohio

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