Proposal denied
Officials oppose ban on pot dispenseries
Lauderhill city officials have shot downaproposal thatwould prevent marijuana dispensaries from opening in the city.
Therewasnosupportforanordinance that sought to prohibit medical marijuana treatment centers in the city.
However, Mayor RichardKaplan and other city officials are infavor of regulating dispensaries and limiting them to certain parts of the city. Officials maintained that a blanket ban on such facilities would go against the will of the state’s voters. InNovemberlastyear, morethan70 percent of the voters approved a constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana.
The proposed ordinance, if passed, would havemadethe city out of bounds for marijuana dispensaries but would not have affected a personal caregiver or qualifying patient. The ban on dispensaries would, however, have made it difficult for them to obtain marijuana.
“I understand the point of giving the public what it voted for,” said ViceMayor Ken Thurston. “I hope the state Legislature will come up with reasonable rules and guidelines on the issue. I do notwant the city to act too fast on this.”
Thurston said he does not want the city to deal with having too many medical marijuana dispensaries. “Itwas not easy getting the pill mills out of the city. That being said, I do not think medical marijuana dispensaries are going to be a problem.”
Coral Springs, Tamarac, Fort Lauderdale, Sunrise and Deerfield Beacharesomeofthelocalbodiesin the county thathave imposedmoratoriums on marijuana dispensaries. Lauderhill is likely to follow.
Someof the cities are considering an approval process, with the city commission as the deciding authority, to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries and treatment centers. Other measures being considered include introducing zoning regulations and separation requirements to control the number and location of such facilities.
Davie and Hollywood regulate not only by zoning and distance requirements but also by population. Only one dispensary per 50,000 people is allowed in Davie while Hollywood allows one per 65,000 residents.
asivasankaran@tronc.com