HomeMy Public PortalAboutLTC 061-2018 Municipal Regulation of Medical Marijuana DispensariesBAL HARBOUR
- VILLAGE -
OFFICE OF THE VILLAGE MANAGER LETTER TO COUNCIL
NO. 061-2018
To: Mayor Gabriel Groisman and Members of the Village Council
From: Jorge M. Gonzalez, Village Manager
Susan L. Trevarthen, Village Attorney
Date: April 6, 2018
Subject: Municipal Regulation of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
The purpose of this Letter to Council (LTC), is to transmit to you information concerning
the municipal regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries.
In November 2016, the Florida voters approved a ballot initiative amending the Florida
Constitution to allow for broader sale and use of marijuana for medical purposes within
the state. On June 23, 2017, Governor Scott signed Senate Bill 8A ("SB 8A") aimed at
implementing the approved Constitutional amendment. One of the most significant
aspects of SB 8A is that local governments are specifically permitted to ban medical
marijuana dispensaries by ordinance. However, if a local government does not ban, it may
not place any restrictions on the number of dispensing facilities allowed and it cannot
adopt regulations for the location of dispensing facilities that are more restrictive than its
ordinances regulating pharmacies. A pharmacy under the statute is a facility licensed as a
pharmacy under Chapter 465, Florida Statutes. Under the Village Code, Drugstores would
be the identified use which would apply. Thus the Village could either ban medical
marijuana dispensaries altogether or they could regulate them in the same manner they
do Drugstores. The regulation of cultivation, processing, manufacturing and delivery are
all preempted to the State.
The statute does not automatically impose the regulatory limitations or requirements; thus,
a local government must proactively ban dispensaries. If dispensaries are not banned, they
are allowed, and their location cannot be regulated more strictly than pharmacies.
The Village Code regulates pharmacies as "Drugstores" requiring conditional use approval
through the site plan process. I have consulted with the Village Manager and we concur
that, due to the very limited amount of land zoned business where drug stores could
locate, it is unlikely that the Village will see dispensary applications. We therefore do not
propose to take any action at this time. If one of you desires to pursue a ban, we request
that you submit a discussion item for consideration at a Council meeting.
LTC 061-2018: Municipal Regulation of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
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The possession and use of marijuana is still prohibited by federal law. We would note that
on January 4, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions reversed the Department of Justice's
(DO)) stance on the treatment of state authorized marijuana facilities. In 2013, the DOJ
had issued a policy prohibiting the expenditure of funds to enforce federal law against
marijuana facilities which were operating pursuant to, and in compliance with state laws.
That policy has now been reversed and it will be up to the state US Attorneys to decide
whether or not to enforce federal law against these state -licensed facilities.
If you have any further questions or would like to discuss this, please contact me or the
Village Manager.
JMG/SLT/KM