SNOW HILL – As the state prepares for the legalization of recreational marijuana this summer, local officials are reviewing any changes that might need to be made locally.
Staff last week presented the Worcester County Commissioners with information on zoning as it relates to the legalization of cannabis. The commissioners advised officials within the county’s department of development review and permitting to continue monitoring the situation and to be prepared to make recommendations if changes needed to be made.
“We need to be on top of this,” Commissioner Joe Mitrecic said.
Jennifer Keener, director of development review and permitting (DRP), said the commissioners had asked her department to review potential local limitations related to the cannabis reform bills that passed in the general assembly. She advised the commissioners that when medical marijuana establishments were licensed in 2017, each component was tied to an existing use in the zoning control article.
“Therefore, the cultivation of the plant is considered agriculture, allowed in any zoning district; the processing of the plant is an industrial use allowed only in the industrial zoning districts; and the sale of the finished product is treated like a retail pharmacy/ dispensary, allowed in the commercial zoning districts…,” she wrote in a report to the commissioners. “Cannabis sales for recreational use would also follow this same path unless an amendment to the county code was adopted.”
I still say the extreme unqualified commissioners of Worcester County should not try to handle this. This should be law enforcement. And the District Attorneys office leading the way. They should stick the usual kissing OC, and OP’s ass, and leave the grown up issues alone.