By Linda Dillman
Staff Writer
Canal Winchester City Council is calling a short-term moratorium on adult-use cannabis dispensaries, cultivators, and processors until the end of the year while the state finalizes its own rules following passage of State Issue 2 in 2023.
During council’s May 6 work session, Canal Winchester Law Director Thaddeus Boggs said the state is in its rulemaking and licensing process. Medical marijuana use is prohibited as a matter of city zoning.
“The thought being letting that play its course before opening up Canal Winchester to potentially those businesses was at least a path to consider,” said Boggs. “It is only for businesses. The personal cultivation and use provisions in State Issue 2 are written in a way that local governments cannot deviate from what that permits.”
Canal Winchester Development Director Lucas Haire said the city has little vacant commercial space and the cannabis business is not something his department is cultivating for development.
“We believe there will be a number of applications in the Canal Winchester zip code based on conversations I’ve had with potential applicants,” said Haire. “So, it will not be in the city of Canal Winchester, but in the Canal Winchester zip code.”
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