“This is a big issue for our community,” she said.
Callahan said if Monroe residents see a need for a ballot issue, they can obtain the signatures to get it placed on an future election.
Council member Dr. Kelly Clark said the “scientist” in her wants to hear from as many residents as possible.
“I don’t like doing it blind,” she said in regards to a council decision.
Clark hopes whatever council decides, it makes it “harder, not impossible” for dispensaries to open.
Last spring the Ohio Board of Pharmacy approved adding 73 dispensary licenses statewide, including three in Monroe, pushing the city’s total to four.
Monroe has one marijuana dispensary operating and three more that are planned to open this year, city officials said. Once all four dispensaries are operational, Monroe, with a population of 15,412, will have one marijuana business per 3,853 residents, the highest rate in the state.
The only Ohio cities that will have more dispensaries than Monroe are Columbus (15), Cincinnati (11), Cleveland (5) and Dayton (5). Monroe is tied for fifth with Canton that has a population more than four times larger at 70,872.
Of the provisional licenses in the state, those include three in Butler County, two in Warren County, four