Lauderdale postpones marijuana dispensaries

Fort Lauderdale is joining the cities where marijuana dispensaries are forbidden — at least for the rest of the year.

The City Commission on Tuesday night tentatively approved a 180-day moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries. Officials said they want more time to clear the legal haze surrounding them.

“This is just a pause,” City Attorney Cynthia Everett said. “You can make a recommendation to press play.”

The city earlier this year agreed to allow the dispensaries, but only four of them — one in each City Commission district.

A state law passed subsequently says cities can’t place such limits. A city or county can ban the pot centers outright, but if they allow them, their numbers cannot be limited, the new state law says.

Local governments disagree about whether the state law applies to ordinances like Fort Lauderdale’s that predated it.

Many in South Florida are taking a cautious approach. Some have banned dispensaries. At least a dozen Broward cities had moratoriums in place when the county conducted a survey in September.

A limited number of local governments, including the Palm Beach County Commission, Lake Worth, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Dania Beach, have approved them.

Everett recommended the pause in Fort Lauderdale, “to allow staff time to thoroughly research and analyze the impacts to the city, its residents and visitors,” she said in a memo.

Many doctors have completed the required training to recommend marijuana to their patients. According to the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use, 11 doctors in Fort Lauderdale have done so.

But dispensaries are far fewer.

Only 12 companies have state permission to dispense marijuana, according to the state. Of the companies’ 19 pot-dispensing clinics, four are in South Florida — three in Miami-Dade, none in Broward, and one about to open in Lake Worth.

Voters in November overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment expanding the use of medical marijuana, which is low in THC, the chemical that produces the high.

A patient with a qualifying ailment — like cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and epilepsy — can apply for a medical marijuana card, and then can purchase it through a dispensary. The law doesn’t allow medical marijuana to be smoked. The law allows vaping and edible versions.

In other action, Fort Lauderdale city commissioners:

Agreement with Yachting Promotions Inc. and Marine Industries Association of South Florida, Inc., for the use of the city’s Las Olas Marina for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, set for Oct. 29-Nov. 6.

BOAT SHOW: FERRIS WHEEL:

Briefly discussed the possibility of adding a ferris wheel to DC Alexander Park at 505 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. The idea will return to City Commission soon.