This week, news hit the wire that Ohio cannabis sales have almost reached $250M in the first year of adult-use dispensaries. Each sale is subject to a 10 percent tax, and 36 percent of that income goes to communities with adult-use dispensaries. That equates to a hefty sum to be split up among Ohio cities, but not all localities have opted in.
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Troy, Ohio cannabis ban goes to vote
The Troy city council voted unanimously against medical or adult-use cannabis businesses operating within its limits last week. Three cannabis-focused emergency ordinances went to a vote during the meeting. Each sought to amend the building code, one to allow medical cannabis businesses in sector 4-B, one to allow adult-use dispensaries in that area, and a final citywide ban on adult-use operators.
When the topic of allowing a medical dispensary went to a vote, Councilmember Bobby Phillips of the Fourth Ward motioned to postpone indefinitely.
He took the opportunity to give a statement on the motion, citing allegiance to federal law.
“Of any of them that are on here, this is the one that I would support. However, pending the federal stance on the statutes revolving around marijuana is my only reservation,” Councilmember Phillips said.
That motion to allow medical cannabis dispensaries was supported unanimously by the city council. The ordinance to allow adult-use dispensaries faced the same procedural refusal. However, Councilmembers Jeffery Schilling (Sixth Ward) and Jeffrey Whidden (First Ward) voted against prohibiting adult-use cannabis business in Troy while the others voiced their favor.
WHIO TV spoke with some Troy residents who disagree with how things shook out.
“Looks like the moralizers got their way,” Troy resident Bradley Boehringer said to WHIO TV. “52 percent of voters voted for issue two and, by passing this ban, you just told them tonight that their votes don’t matter.”
Those who spoke with the television station hoped to buy regulated cannabis rather than pot “off the street.” They desire dispensaries in town in hopes it would deter illegal activity. The closest regulated weed shops to Troy are just under ten miles north of town in Miami County.
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This choice lands the city of Troy in the same boat as Colorado Springs, a town in a long-legal state where voters and council members remain at odds on how to handle cannabis business. This is not new. In fact, there are cities in many legal states that continue to pass on pot. For some voters, the battle for a local dispensary begins at legalization.
