Franklin County preparing for impacts of medical marijuana

  Franklin County Commissioners will hold a series of public hearings over the next few months to work out rules on dealing with medical marijuana which was recently approved in Florida.

In November over 70 percent of Florida voters chose to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana in the Sunshine State – in Franklin county nearly 73 percent of voters voted for the measure.

Now the state and the counties have to figure out how to implement the new law.

County staff has already started hearing from people who want information on zoning and other restrictions for storefronts.

Apparently so have other Florida counties.

The state is working on rules to govern the implementation of medical marijuana, and county commissioners say there need to be local rules in place too – particularly those dealing with zoning and where dispensaries can be located.

County Commissioners said they do not want to hinder the new law in any way but they do want everything done properly and if possible they would like to see it done by local people.

Last week the board agreed to implement a moratorium on any medical marijuana dispensaries so the county can hold public hearings to begin working through any zoning issues.

The moratorium will also provide the time the state needs to issue statewide rules.

In the meantime, the Commission Chairman and County Attorney will attend a special conference by the Florida Association of counties on February the 4^th which should provide more information about how best to implement the medical marijuana law.

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