Lake latest in Central Florida to ban medical marijuana shops

TAVARES — Lake County commissioners decided Tuesday to ban medical marijuana dispensaries, citing the willingness of some neighboring communities to allow medicinal pot shops.

“It doesn’t mean people cannot have medical marijuana delivered right to their homes from a dispensary,” Commissioner Leslie Campione said after the unanimous vote. “It doesn’t mean they can’t get a prescription or can’t use it. We just don’t feel like we should be introducing these storefronts and dispensaries in the rural areas.”

The commission’s decision applies to Lake’s unincorporated areas and does not affect Mascotte, Mount Dora or other cities where the shops are welcome.

Knox Medical, which grows marijuana in Winter Garden, opened its first dispensary in June on Orange Avenue in Orlando. The city later enacted a ban with a “grandfather” clause that allowed Knox to stay open.

Last November, Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment expanding access to medical marijuana. The measure received 71 percent approval. But the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature imposed strict regulating rules.

Like government leaders in Apopka, Winter Garden and Winter Park, which also banned marijuana dispensaries, Lake officials cited restrictive state rules that give local governments two zoning options: Ban them or treat them like a CVS, Walgreen’s or another pharmacy. “It’s a no-win situation for us,” Lake commissioner Sean Parks said.

Vance Jochim, author of the Fiscal Rangers blog and an outspoken observer of Lake County government, said the county didn’t need to be a test case for pot shops because other communities have already volunteered to be.

“The county shouldn’t be a guinea pig,” he said.