Drug Free Manatee urges ban on medical marijuana dispensaries

The recent vote by the Manatee Board of County Commissioners to allow medical marijuana dispensaries is merely affirmation of language currently in state statute (SB 8-A) e.g. same zoning as pharmacies, 500-foot separation from schools.

Drug Free Manatee suggests commissioners take a closer look at the issues and options for dispensaries. Many Florida cities and counties are considering, or implemented, bans on medical marijuana dispensaries, reasoning that:

▪ Marijuana is a Schedule 1 illegal drug according to federal law.

▪ State law allows local bans on medical marijuana dispensaries.

▪ If dispensaries are allowed, they can be zoned no more strictly than pharmacies; consider the impact of a dispensary everywhere there is a CVS or Walgreens in the county.

▪  No limits on the number of dispensaries in a city/ county are allowed.

▪ Cities and counties may want to wait to see how Amendment 2 litigation plays out (lawsuits filed by John Morgan, Joe Redner) before allowing dispensaries.

▪  Currently, patients always have access to medical marijuana through 24/7 home delivery; no legitimate patient is being deprived of access now or in the future.

Three counties (Collier, Indian River and Sumter) and 22 municipalities, including Longboat Key, Bradenton Beach and Ana Maria Island, have banned medical marijuana dispensaries. Four more counties (Charlotte, Orange, Seminole, Lake) and nine municipalities including Daytona Beach and Orlando are considering bans on dispensaries. What negative impacts are all these jurisdictions worried about that Manatee County, apparently, is not? And why not?

Manatee County is already in the middle of one drug crisis. Do we really want to move precipitously toward another?

This story was originally published August 31, 2017 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Drug Free Manatee urges ban on medical marijuana dispensaries."