Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
West Wendover is officially ready for a medical marijuana dispensary – now all the city has to do is wait for interested businesses to apply.
The City Council voted 4-to-1 on Tuesday in favor of an ordinance allowing a marijuana dispensary to open within its borders, the city's clerk confirmed. The Nevada city – on Utah's western border about 120 miles from Salt lake City – will soon accept bids from businesses interested in building and operating the facility, once the ordinance takes effect in mid-August.
The dispensary will be located in the city's industrial area, city clerk Anna Bartlome said, as the location meets state requirements barring proximity to churches, schools and residential areas.
In 2013, Nevada lawmakers passed a measure allowing cities to pass zoning and land-use ordinances for marijuana-based businesses. As of mid-March, there were about 55 medical dispensaries in Nevada, which can sell marijuana to those with registration cards from at least 25 states, according to the state's Division of Public and Behavioral Health.
Despite the West Wendover dispensary being only a 90-minute drive away from Utah's main population center, a Utah Medical Association official said it is still against federal law for Utah doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to state residents.
Nothing would prohibit a Utah doctor from referring a patient to another provider who might help with meeting Nevada's requirements, however, the official added.
It would remain illegal to bring prescribed cannabis across the Utah line.
According to current federal law, authorities cannot block states from creating medical marijuana laws, protecting patients, caregivers and businesses from prosecution. That law, however, expires Sept. 30 and would need reauthorization from Congress.
In late June, activists in Utah submitted a ballot initiative to put marijuana legalization to a vote in November 2018. Utah lawmakers, meanwhile, have taken up the issue of legalizing medical marijuana several times.
During its most recent general sessions, the state Legislature decided against legalizing medical marijuana given uncertainty surrounding federal enforcement of marijuana laws under the Trump administration.
Instead, state lawmakers passed measures to fund research in Utah into marijuana's potential benefits.
In 2016, state lawmakers came close to legalizing medical marijuana with two dueling bills, but a compromise proposal failed in the legislative session's final hours when it was discovered that no money had been set aside to implement the program.
A Utah law passed in 2014 allowing Utahns with severe epilepsy to import whole-plant cannabidiol extracts from states with legalized medical marijuana. The Utah Department of Health now issues hemp extract registration cards to qualified patients, with 166 cards approved between July 2014 and Oct. 2016.
As of April, 29 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized medical marijuana in some way, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: West Wendover approves locale for medical marijuana dispensary, now seeks interested businesses | The Salt Lake Tribune
Author: Kelly Gifford
Contact: Staff - The Salt Lake Tribune
Photo Credit: Tribune
Website: Utah Local News - Salt Lake City News, Sports, Entertainment, Business - The Salt Lake Tribune
The City Council voted 4-to-1 on Tuesday in favor of an ordinance allowing a marijuana dispensary to open within its borders, the city's clerk confirmed. The Nevada city – on Utah's western border about 120 miles from Salt lake City – will soon accept bids from businesses interested in building and operating the facility, once the ordinance takes effect in mid-August.
The dispensary will be located in the city's industrial area, city clerk Anna Bartlome said, as the location meets state requirements barring proximity to churches, schools and residential areas.
In 2013, Nevada lawmakers passed a measure allowing cities to pass zoning and land-use ordinances for marijuana-based businesses. As of mid-March, there were about 55 medical dispensaries in Nevada, which can sell marijuana to those with registration cards from at least 25 states, according to the state's Division of Public and Behavioral Health.
Despite the West Wendover dispensary being only a 90-minute drive away from Utah's main population center, a Utah Medical Association official said it is still against federal law for Utah doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to state residents.
Nothing would prohibit a Utah doctor from referring a patient to another provider who might help with meeting Nevada's requirements, however, the official added.
It would remain illegal to bring prescribed cannabis across the Utah line.
According to current federal law, authorities cannot block states from creating medical marijuana laws, protecting patients, caregivers and businesses from prosecution. That law, however, expires Sept. 30 and would need reauthorization from Congress.
In late June, activists in Utah submitted a ballot initiative to put marijuana legalization to a vote in November 2018. Utah lawmakers, meanwhile, have taken up the issue of legalizing medical marijuana several times.
During its most recent general sessions, the state Legislature decided against legalizing medical marijuana given uncertainty surrounding federal enforcement of marijuana laws under the Trump administration.
Instead, state lawmakers passed measures to fund research in Utah into marijuana's potential benefits.
In 2016, state lawmakers came close to legalizing medical marijuana with two dueling bills, but a compromise proposal failed in the legislative session's final hours when it was discovered that no money had been set aside to implement the program.
A Utah law passed in 2014 allowing Utahns with severe epilepsy to import whole-plant cannabidiol extracts from states with legalized medical marijuana. The Utah Department of Health now issues hemp extract registration cards to qualified patients, with 166 cards approved between July 2014 and Oct. 2016.
As of April, 29 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized medical marijuana in some way, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: West Wendover approves locale for medical marijuana dispensary, now seeks interested businesses | The Salt Lake Tribune
Author: Kelly Gifford
Contact: Staff - The Salt Lake Tribune
Photo Credit: Tribune
Website: Utah Local News - Salt Lake City News, Sports, Entertainment, Business - The Salt Lake Tribune
