The sale of medical marijuana is banned in all of Charlotte County. After county commissioners voted to do so Tuesday, the Punta Gorda City Council voted today to follow suit. But council members agreed the city’s ban would only last a year at most. And then they’d revisit the subject.
The discussion was low key, and it ended with Mayor Rachel Keesling calling for the vote, which was unanimous.
But it was a vote not one of the five Punta Gorda City Council members was happy with. Their ire was directed at the state legislature, which passed a law giving local government very little leeway in regulating the sale of medical marijuana in their communities. The governments can allow it—and be obligated to treat pot dispensaries like pharmacies. Or they can ban it.
If they do nothing, they would not be able to stop dispensaries from opening up in the city wherever they desire—with some restrictions for locations near schools and the like. And the city could not control the number of dispensaries. That would be up to the state.
Councilman Gary Wein, who’s had personal experience with cancer, ultimately proposed the motion that was passed. But he was clearly unhappy.
“As much as I want to see this happen, I want to see it happen in a very controlled manner, so that people that are ill, that have a medical need, instead of taking a high risk opiate could take a lower risk marijuana to control pain and discomfort, or to maintain appetite in those type of circumstances,” said Wein. “As much as I want that, I don’t want to open up what I think could be a more difficult Pandora’s Box.”
Wein and other council members are concerned that since Charlotte County Commissioners also passed a total ban in the county at their Tuesday meeting, allowing pot sales in Punta Gorda would make the small city a magnet for buyers.