Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
As Amendment 2 goes into effect, St. Augustine Beach officials plan to consider crafting their own regulations on medical marijuana.
Beach commissioners are expected to discuss tonight, at a meeting starting at 6 p.m. at City Hall, whether the city should regulate where medical marijuana could be sold.
"I brought it up about six months ago that we should probably address that matter before something came up [and before we would need to address it urgently]," Mayor Rich O'Brien said.
According to a memo from City Manager Max Royle, the city is proposing to have regulations "so as to avoid the Legislature pre-empting [the city's] ability to regulate where medical marijuana may be sold."
It's not clear whether local officials will have to worry about the issue. As it stands, St. Johns County doesn't have a dispensary.
Before Amendment 2, the state had already approved non-smoked, low-THC cannabis for people with certain illnesses and later expanded the use to stronger marijuana for those who are terminally ill, according to the Associated Press.
Amendment 2 allows "medical use of marijuana" for more illnesses, those that are "debilitating medical conditions as determined by a Florida licensed physician," according to the Associated Press and the amendment. Those include glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder, ALS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and other conditions, according to the article.
New rules for the amendment will be crafted by the Florida Department of Health.
The department had already approved six dispensaries, but none of them are in St. Johns County, according to the Florida Department of Health's Office of Compassionate Use. At least one business had applied for a license that would have allowed marijuana production in St. Johns County.
Three more licenses are expected to open up if the state patient registry reaches 250,000, according to the Associated Press. The registry now has about 1,500 patients.
As for St. Augustine Beach, the City Commission could consider regulating medical marijuana sales in the same way that the city regulates liquor stores, "which are allowed if they have 'an area of less than 8,000 square feet within a shopping center having greater than 15,000 square feet under roof,'" according to Royle.
The city's rules mean any liquor store at the beach has to be in the Anastasia Plaza, according to Royle. That is near the intersection of State Road A1A and A1A Beach Boulevard.
Also on the table is discussing restricting the sale of medical marijuana to a licensed pharmacy, and using the phrase "legally available marijuana" in beach guidelines in case the sale of recreational marijuana becomes legal, according to Royle.
The city of St. Augustine has already passed a series of zoning regulations for marijuana.
In 2014, St. Augustine commissioners passed four zoning ordinances that regulate the the cultivation, sale and manufacture of legally available marijuana, among other things, according to a previous Record report. The move was in anticipation of impending rules regarding low-THC cannabis, which had already been legalized.
One ordinance limits the sale of legally available marijuana to facilities in a certain commercial zoning and with direct vehicle access to U.S. 1.
"The idea was ... since the state has allowed some type of medical marijuana as being legally available in the state ... we should make sure that we have appropriate zoning in place," St. Augustine City Attorney Isabelle Lopez said.
Lopez indicated she doesn't expect changes to the city's rules.
"No one has raised the question back to me, so there's been no discussion," she said. "I think the ordinances are easily enforceable."
And while nothing is on the books for St. Johns County government, officials are preparing.
Sarah Hand, county spokeswoman, said, "County staff is actively investigating the need for appropriate legislation regarding medical marijuana sales and preparing to brief the county commissioners should the topic arise at an upcoming board meeting,"
Dozens of cities in Florida have banned or restricted dispensaries with zoning regulations, according to the Associated Press.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: St. Augustine Beach To Tackle Marijuana Regulations
Author: Sheldon Gardner
Contact: (866) 829-6562
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The St. Augustine Record
Beach commissioners are expected to discuss tonight, at a meeting starting at 6 p.m. at City Hall, whether the city should regulate where medical marijuana could be sold.
"I brought it up about six months ago that we should probably address that matter before something came up [and before we would need to address it urgently]," Mayor Rich O'Brien said.
According to a memo from City Manager Max Royle, the city is proposing to have regulations "so as to avoid the Legislature pre-empting [the city's] ability to regulate where medical marijuana may be sold."
It's not clear whether local officials will have to worry about the issue. As it stands, St. Johns County doesn't have a dispensary.
Before Amendment 2, the state had already approved non-smoked, low-THC cannabis for people with certain illnesses and later expanded the use to stronger marijuana for those who are terminally ill, according to the Associated Press.
Amendment 2 allows "medical use of marijuana" for more illnesses, those that are "debilitating medical conditions as determined by a Florida licensed physician," according to the Associated Press and the amendment. Those include glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder, ALS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and other conditions, according to the article.
New rules for the amendment will be crafted by the Florida Department of Health.
The department had already approved six dispensaries, but none of them are in St. Johns County, according to the Florida Department of Health's Office of Compassionate Use. At least one business had applied for a license that would have allowed marijuana production in St. Johns County.
Three more licenses are expected to open up if the state patient registry reaches 250,000, according to the Associated Press. The registry now has about 1,500 patients.
As for St. Augustine Beach, the City Commission could consider regulating medical marijuana sales in the same way that the city regulates liquor stores, "which are allowed if they have 'an area of less than 8,000 square feet within a shopping center having greater than 15,000 square feet under roof,'" according to Royle.
The city's rules mean any liquor store at the beach has to be in the Anastasia Plaza, according to Royle. That is near the intersection of State Road A1A and A1A Beach Boulevard.
Also on the table is discussing restricting the sale of medical marijuana to a licensed pharmacy, and using the phrase "legally available marijuana" in beach guidelines in case the sale of recreational marijuana becomes legal, according to Royle.
The city of St. Augustine has already passed a series of zoning regulations for marijuana.
In 2014, St. Augustine commissioners passed four zoning ordinances that regulate the the cultivation, sale and manufacture of legally available marijuana, among other things, according to a previous Record report. The move was in anticipation of impending rules regarding low-THC cannabis, which had already been legalized.
One ordinance limits the sale of legally available marijuana to facilities in a certain commercial zoning and with direct vehicle access to U.S. 1.
"The idea was ... since the state has allowed some type of medical marijuana as being legally available in the state ... we should make sure that we have appropriate zoning in place," St. Augustine City Attorney Isabelle Lopez said.
Lopez indicated she doesn't expect changes to the city's rules.
"No one has raised the question back to me, so there's been no discussion," she said. "I think the ordinances are easily enforceable."
And while nothing is on the books for St. Johns County government, officials are preparing.
Sarah Hand, county spokeswoman, said, "County staff is actively investigating the need for appropriate legislation regarding medical marijuana sales and preparing to brief the county commissioners should the topic arise at an upcoming board meeting,"
Dozens of cities in Florida have banned or restricted dispensaries with zoning regulations, according to the Associated Press.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: St. Augustine Beach To Tackle Marijuana Regulations
Author: Sheldon Gardner
Contact: (866) 829-6562
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The St. Augustine Record
