On Tuesday, the city council will meet again to discuss medical marijuana. Steve Schumm, a member of the city council, has proposed an ordinance that would impose regulations on any establishment that offers medical marijuana. “Let’s put it this way: I’m attempting to draft a law that will actually be enforced.
The term “planning” or “pre-planning” comes to mind “To quote Schumm: “This would occur before anyone in Norwalk is awarded a license to operate a dispensary for medical marijuana. This would put restrictions on, but not outright ban, the location of medicinal marijuana dispensaries in Norwalk.”
Schumm collaborated on the ordinance with Stuart O’Hara, the city’s director of law. To his knowledge, no new applications have been submitted by businesses interested in selling medicinal marijuana in Norwalk, but he believes this will help the city get ready for the eventuality anyway.
O’Hara added of state agreements with businesses that could want to set up shop in Norwalk, “I don’t believe there any at this point, but you never know when the state will open it up again.”Council would only allow medicinal marijuana outlets in industrial and business zones if the proposed policy were to become law.
It would also mandate a minimum distance of 500 feet between dispensaries and the lot line of any residentially designated or used property. Already, there is possible pushback to the ordinance. Matt Doughty, a council member, argued that the measure imposed too many limits.
Doughty stated, “It’s highly likely I’m not going to endorse it.” “In its current form, the proposal would effectively rule out the utilization of any existing locations. It’s limiting in an unworkable way. You would have to locate (the dispensary) in an undesirable commercial zone.”
When it comes to medical marijuana, the city council has talked about it before. As many as six companies were rumored to be interested in opening medical marijuana dispensaries in Maple City in October 2021. An ordinance to forbid the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries in Norwalk was also scheduled for discussion by the council that year.
That bill, however, was withdrawn before it could be debated. By passing House Bill 523 in 2016, Ohioans now have access to medical marijuana. With the recommendation of a doctor who is licensed in Ohio and who is also certified by the State Medical Board, patients with specific medical conditions will be able to legally acquire and use medical marijuana.
According to Ohio law, the following health issues qualify as serious enough to need such attention: acquired immune deficiency syndrome, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cachexia, cancer, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy or another seizure disorder, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, hepatitis C, Huntington’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic and severe or intractable pain, Parkinson’s disease, the human immunodeficiency.
There are just three approved medical marijuana dispensaries in the local region, as shown by the state’s Medical Marijuana Dispensary Map. We recommend Terrasana in Fremont at 1800 E. State St., The Forest in Sandusky at 1651 Tiffin Ave., and Firelands Scientific in Huron at 2300 University Dr. E.
According to the state’s website, new dispensary license applications are being denied at this time. No certified medical marijuana doctors are currently practicing in Norwalk. However, the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program website lists a number of local doctors who hold such registrations, including Zachary West of the Ohio Institute of Osteopathic Medicine in Tiffin.
Christian Jacobus of Bridge Palliative Care in Findlay, Robert Hall of Noms Internal Medicine in Sandusky, Megan Bower of Green Card in Sandusky, Susan Graham of Alternative Medicine Centers of America in Sandusky, and Timothy Sutton of the Koyle Clinic in Sandusky.
