Marijuana dispensary ban comes up for vote

Delray to consider issue on Thursday

DELRAY BEACH – Don’t expect to see marijuana dispensaries popping up on Delray’s Atlantic Avenue anytime soon.

Even though more than 75 percent of voters in Delray Beach approved of legalizing of medical marijuana, the city plans Thursday to consider banning pot shops inside city limits.

Mayor Cary Glickstein said the ban is not intended to subvert the will of voters, who amended the state constitution to legalize medical marijuana last November.

Rather, the ban allows the city to take a slower approach toward the new law, while considering problems the city already has with opioid-related drugs, he said.

“I would speculate that we will have dispensaries at some point, but not all areas of the state that approved medical marijuana deal with drug-related issues that are so acute here,” Glickstein said.

Under the new rules Gov. Rick Scott signed in June, cities are allowed to ban dispensaries outright.

If the city were to allow dispensaries, it would have to treat them as pharmacies, according to a Delray Beach Planning and Zoning Board analysis.

Four cities in South Florida already have similar bans in place. Boca Raton, Hillsboro Beach and Highland Beach are also considering a ban on dispensaries.

Last September, Delray established a yearlong moratorium on marijuana treatment centers and dispensaries.

Florida’s law restricts cannabis prescriptions to those with cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, PTSD, ALS, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis or similar conditions.

Commissioners will have their first bite at the apple in a preliminary vote Thursday evening.