None of Ravalli County’s three largest integrated cities presently enable the sale of medical marijuana inside city limits.
That can change in Hamilton on Jan. 1, when a brand new state legislation will enable adults to buy leisure hashish at licensed dispensaries.
The Hamilton Metropolis Council accepted zoning adjustments final week that establishes two areas inside the town the place licensed marijuana dispensaries might be allowed below sure circumstances.
Each Darby and Stevensville presently are in a holding sample and received’t enable the sale of leisure marijuana inside city limits in the interim.
Hamilton Metropolis Planner Matthew Rohrbach mentioned the town’s zoning fee and council have been working for a number of months on native rules and pointers for various marijuana companies, together with dispensaries and marijuana producers.
Business marijuana cultivation is not going to be allowed inside metropolis limits.
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Hamilton presently doesn’t enable medical marijuana dispensaries to arrange store on the town, however below the up to date ordinances marijuana might be bought by licensed companies in commercially zoned areas alongside Freeway 93 and the downtown enterprise district.
Beneath state legislation, the marijuana dispensaries can’t be positioned inside 500 toes of and on the identical road as a church or faculty. Since there are a few church buildings on Hamilton’s Primary Road, a marijuana dispensary received’t be allowed inside 500 toes of these on Primary Road, however they will set up companies on aspect streets.
Marijuana dispensaries additionally usually are not allowed to be inside 200 toes of one other dispensary.
The brand new state legislation solely permits present medical marijuana companies that had been licensed earlier than Nov. 2, 2020, to use for an adult-use license.
In line with the Montana Division of Income, there are presently 21 medical marijuana licensed companies in Ravalli County. It’s not clear on what number of of these will apply for a license to promote leisure marijuana.
Rohrbach mentioned the town of Hamilton has acquired inquiries concerning the potential of establishing a leisure marijuana enterprise, however “nothing critical but. It’s been extra simply folks desirous to know what our rules are.”
The zoning fee and metropolis council centered on crafting rules that respect the desire of the voters — greater than 60% of Hamilton voters solid ballots in favor of legalizing leisure marijuana use — and mitigating potential impacts of the brand new companies to the neighborhood, Rohrbach mentioned.
“It’s tough,” he mentioned. “It’s form of a brand new frontier. We’re all attempting to determine how to do that on a statewide and municipal stage. We’re what our voters mentioned whereas additionally what the potential impacts might be to the neighborhood and ensuring that these are being mitigated.”
“I don’t know what to anticipate however I do really feel some stage of consolation figuring out that we no less than have our native regulatory course of in place for the Jan. 1 deadline,” Rohrbach mentioned.
In Darby, the city council handed a 90-day emergency ordinance on Nov. 23 that may proceed the present standing that doesn’t enable for the sale of medical or leisure marijuana contained in the city limits.
“The emergency ordinance will give everybody extra time to work on it,” mentioned Darby Mayor Ruth Lendrum. “The city council felt like we wanted extra time to think about what we’re going to do.”
“I’ve printed all 153 pages of the legislation simply to have the ability to get the sense of it,” she mentioned. “We perceive what it says and what now we have to do. We might be following the legislation, however it does take time for these items to work their approach by means of.”
Darby is the one bigger neighborhood in Ravalli County that doesn’t have a medical marijuana dispensary on its outskirts.
Stevensville Mayor Brandon Dewey mentioned the city council has not talked concerning the subject not too long ago.
“We do have rules on the books that do prohibit dispensaries within the metropolis,” Dewey mentioned. “Our enterprise licensing ordinance requires {that a} enterprise who’s making use of for a license have to be compliant below state and federal legal guidelines. As a result of federal legislation nonetheless regulates marijuana in the way in which that it does, a dispensary would have their software denied.”
“Till federal legislation adjustments, a dispensary wouldn’t be given a enterprise license to function in Stevensville,” Dewey mentioned.
Ravalli County Commissioner Jeff Burrows mentioned the county fee has not mentioned the problem of leisure marijuana dispensaries.
