By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Two locations in Bowling Green are being reviewed as a possible site for a medical marijuana dispensary.
The state has been divided into four quadrants for medical marijuana sales – with Northwest Ohio to have 10 dispensaries. The region has been broken into districts, with Wood, Hancock and Henry counties being combined into one district to be allowed one dispensary. No applicants filed for locations in Hancock or Henry counties.
So that leaves Wood County to host a dispensary. The three applications filed with the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy are for sites at:
- 106 E. Napoleon Road, Bowling Green, with the business name of Debbie’s Dispensary, filed by Sara Presler.
- 1155 N. Main St., Bowling Green, with the business name of Glass City Alternatives, filed by Mark Jacobs.
- 2701 Woodville Road, Northwood, with the business name of Serenity Dispensary, filed by Deitra Hickey.
House Bill 523, the Ohio law that in 2016 legalized marijuana for medical use only, tasked the Ohio Board of Pharmacy with determining which locations should be approved as dispensaries.
A total of potential 376 sites were submitted, though just 60 will be approved, according to Grant Miller, spokesperson with the Ohio Board of Pharmacy.
The law requires 500 feet between any marijuana business and a school, church, public library or public playground.
“We have to make sure they are complying with the rule,” Miller said on Monday. “It’s an in depth process. Obviously, there’s a lot that goes into the application.”
The selected dispensary locations will be announced this spring, he said.
There will not be an opportunity for the public to comment on the applications prior to their selection, Miller said.
All the applicants were required to show the sites had proper commercial zoning, and that the community had not enacted a moratorium on the sale of medical marijuana.
“When it comes to dispensaries and the way they interact with areas, it’s really up to the local areas. In the end, it’s down to the local town, township or city,” Miller said. “We are judging them on the merits we required.”
In 2016, Bowling Green City Council considered a moratorium on medical marijuana, but decided against taking such action. The city attorney and city planning director suggested that council declare a moratorium until more definite rules came out from the state. Council was split, but decided to not declare a moratorium on a dispensary.
The two locations under review by the state in Bowling Green – on Napoleon and North Main streets – are both already zoned commercial, according to City Planning Director Heather Sayler.
The medical marijuana system in Ohio is to be operational by September.
Patients qualify if they have the following conditions: HIV/AIDS; Alzheimer’s disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); cancer; chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE); Crohn’s disease; epilepsy or another seizure disorder; fibromyalgia; glaucoma; hepatitis C; inflammatory bowel disease; multiple sclerosis; pain that is chronic and severe, or intractable; Parkinson’s disease; post traumatic stress disorder; sickle cell anemia; spinal cord disease or injury; Tourette’s syndrome; traumatic brain injury; and ulcerative colitis. Individuals can petition the state medical board to add conditions.
Doctors must register with the state, which will require completing some type of continuing education about cannabis, before being able to recommend marijuana to patients with whom they have bona fide relationships.
