Ohio Cities To Block Medical Marijuana Business License

The approved medical marijuana law is only a month away from taking effect and handing out marijuana business licenses may take longer than that, but people from Lakewood, Ohio and other communities in the state are already doing what they can to make sure marijuana businesses are blocked in their communities.

According to cleveland.com, there are a number of cities in Ohio that is on a mission to a six-month delay on handing out licenses to marijuana planters, processors, and sellers. Some of them are even thinking about causing temporary ban on the new law which will take effect on September 8. Marijuana businesses have already been set to be legalized in the next six months. The new law has assigned three government agencies to set up the regulations and licensing processes and the first deadline will be in May 2017.

Officials in the different communities say they're not planning to prohibit marijuana businesses but said they needed more time to decide what other laws need to be in place. Other cities including Brecksville and North Royalton, share the same sentiment about the effectivity of legalizing marijuana businesses.

Brecksville Law Director David Matty told cleveland.com Friday that he will recommend a marijuana moratorium to Brecksville City Council. "I want to give council and (Mayor Jerry Hruby) a preliminary education on a 120-page bill," Matty said. "They will have to decide how this will go forward in Brecksville."

North Royalton's assistant law director, Donna Vozar, said the Law Department will also suggest a six-month delay to North Royalton City Council on Sept. 6, two days before the law goes into effect, fxtribune.com reported. "Council and the administration would have time to determine how they want to proceed, whether they want to limit (the growing, processing and selling of) medical marijuana or prohibit it entirely, or what kind of regulations they want to impose," Vozar said.