Pubdate: Thu, 01 May 2014
Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL)
Copyright: 2014 News-Journal Corporation
Contact:  http://www.news-journalonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/700
Author: Natalie Kornicks

FLAGLER BEACH OFFICIALS TO REVIEW MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE

FLAGLER BEACH - City officials are trying to "stay ahead of the curve"
with a proposed ordinance that specifies where medical marijuana
dispensaries and cannabis farms can be located in the event Florida
legislators aren't just blowing smoke.

If the state passes a bill legalizing a certain strain of medical
marijuana in Florida, Flagler Beach's proposed ordinance, which will
be read into the record at a City Commission meeting next week, would
prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries, non-medical marijuana sales
and cannabis farms in certain places, permit medical marijuana
dispensaries in the Highway Commercial Zoning District and provide
additional standards, according to the City Commission meeting agenda.

"What we are trying to do is stay ahead of the curve," City Manager
Bruce Campbell said Thursday.

While Flagler Beach may be the first Flagler County city to undertake
the task of creating an ordinance in anticipation of some form of
legalization, most Volusia County cities are in the "discussion stage"
when it comes to medical marijuana, said Mary Swiderski, executive
director of the Volusia Council of Governments.

Swiderski said VCOG is advising all city mayors to seek information
from the organization "as far as what their approach is and how to
handle federal law," if the budding bill were to become law.

A bill allowing a certain type of marijuana for medical use became the
first not to flameout in a Florida legislative chamber when it was
passed in the Senate with a 36-3 vote on Monday. On Thursday, the
House passed a slightly revised version of the bill that now goes back
to the Senate for approval. If it passes, a distinct strain of
marijuana with low-THC - the chemical that makes users "high" - could
be used to treat children who have epilepsy.

According to the proposed legislation, nicknamed the "Charlotte's Web"
bill after the name of the select strain, only a doctor could
prescribe the drug, it could not be smoked, and it would have to
contain less than 0.8 percent THC (on average, marijuana has 15
percent THC).

"We started back a few months ago saying to ourselves if this does get
approved at state level we want some sort of ordinance in place,"
Campbell said. "We may not be able to not allow it, but we can control
where we want it in our city."

Ponce Inlet has been one of the more proactive towns in Volusia,
according to Swiderski, and town officials decided to prepare an
ordinance. Conversations about whether regulations will be established
have just begun, said Town Manager Jeaneen Witt.

The first reading is planned for the Town Council's June 19 meeting,
she said.

While preparing ordinances, city officials need to consider two
important factors - planning and zoning of dispensaries in terms of
safety and where the marijuana will be grown, said Swiderski, who
added she has disseminated research to all city mayors.

"Obviously, we wouldn't want it in high-density residential areas,"
Campbell said. "We'd probably want it in the highway commercial area
. because (it's) out of our residential area. There are no homes out
there, no people living there, and we're trying to protect our
residents and their properties."

The Highway Commercial Zoning District in Flagler Beach is near the
intersection of State Road 100 and County Road 201.

The next Flagler Beach City Commission meeting is set for 5:30 p.m.
Thursday at City Hall, 105 S. Second St.
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MAP posted-by: Matt