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The greenlight for treatment centers

City to draft medical marijuana ordinance

Kile Brewer
Posted 2/21/18

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The greenlight for treatment centers

City to draft medical marijuana ordinance


Posted

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Green Cove Springs residents might be granted easier access to newly-legal medical marijuana products after the city council voted 5-0 to advise city staff to draft an ordinance allowing medical marijuana treatment centers within city limits.

According to state law, which has been in flux since the ballot measure passed in the 2016 general election, the facilities would be located in the same areas where pharmacies are allowed, and not within 500 feet of a school. For Green Cove, that would basically only allow them along Orange Avenue, near the edge of the city’s boundaries on State Road 16 and south of town in the area between downtown and Reynolds Industrial Park.

Among members of the city council, the theme of the Feb. 20 meeting seemed to be focusing on the city’s voters and giving them what they asked for when over 70 percent voted in favor of the controversial medicine.

“I am just one person, and this was passed by quite a bit, I think it’s something the people want,” Councilmember Steven Kelley said. “I think that I would be in support of it here, and to say otherwise, for myself, would just be a personal thing.”

Other members of the council agreed that it is their responsibility to give the voters what they voted for. The only real contention on the issue coming from council member Pam Lewis who cited both the substance’s illegal status federally, as well as the state’s law not allowing the city to regulate the facilities differently than other places that fill prescriptions like Walgreens or CVS.

“Until the state and the federal government can reconcile their differences, I don’t think we need to get in the middle of the fray,” Lewis said. “I really believe it’s available to people, you might have to drive 10 miles, but there are plenty of dispensaries.”

Despite Lewis’ obvious disdain at the idea of medical marijuana prescriptions being filled in Green Cove Springs, she continuously repeated that she is not against the idea, but she feels that patients have access outside the city in Orange Park or in the county where the governing bodies have both voted to allow treatment centers. The closest facility to Green Cove Springs is along Kingsley Avenue in Orange Park, just over 13 miles from Green Cove Springs City Hall.

In an effort to provide some first person perspective on the issue, Green Cove planning and zoning board member Bob Lewis spoke twice at the meeting on his personal experience with the issue. According to Lewis, he voted no on the measure back in 2016, but since its passing his research has turned him into a staunch supporter.

“I’ve been on opiates for 20 years,” Lewis said. “I’d like to try it myself, just to see if it would take pain away because I have it 24/7.”

In response to council member Lewis’ comments that patients have access outside the city, Bob Lewis appealed that he would rather hop across town on his golf cart to pick up prescriptions rather than having to get in a car and drive outside the city to get his doctor-prescribed medical marijuana products.

This vote does not in any way confirm that the city will allow the centers, it only instructs staff to draft an ordinance to allow before the expiration of their current six-month moratorium extension ends on May 15. Even though at least three members of the council spoke out about their support for passing the future ordinance, they will still have the option to extend the moratorium another six months should they reach a point where they don’t feel they can make a decision on the issue.

Once the ordinance has been drafted, it will go before the city’s planning and zoning board who will vote to recommend a pass or fail to the council. Council will then make their final decision, ideally before their May 15 deadline, because if the moratorium runs out, the city automatically opts in to state law which allows treatment centers.

“I’m tired of government thinking they’re smarter than the people,” said council member Van Royal. “If 65-70 percent of the people say, ‘This is what we think is important for our community,’ then I’m not going to sit here and say I’m smarter than that.”