Patients tearfully call on Orange (County) to allow medical marijuana dispensaries
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-orange-marijuana-dispensary-20171031-story.html
While a constitutional amendment allowing medical marijuana was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2016, the law passed this year by the Legislature requires cities and counties to regulate dispensaries exactly as they would pharmacies.
Among Central Florida cities, only Oviedo is moving forward with an ordinance allowing dispensaries. Orlando has declared its two dispensaries on North Orange Avenue to have been grandfathered in, a strategy county attorney Whitney Evers called a somewhat risky position to take.
Speaking before the commission, state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, described the Legislatures rules as a trap to share the blame with local governments. It muddies the water further and voters just blame everyone. But I fear theyre going to blame you.
Jacobs partially agreed with Smith, saying the law puts local governments between a rock and a hard place, and Im really just trying to understand why.
To say, If you dont like it, just ban it? That is not a situation I ever remember being in.
I don't get why this is so f******g difficult. Granted, I'm not a lawyer. Can someone enlighten me as to legitimate reasons why this is hard for counties to implement ? Our county mayor feels like a gun has been to held to the commission's head (her words, paraphrased). Come on damnit, just tweak the rules for pharmacies to rationally fit the dispensaries, job done.
The quote that pisses me off:
Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs described a medical marijuana decision forced on them by the Legislature as feeling like 'a gun to our head'