COLUMBUS – Columbus City Council Monday night approved new medical marijuana regulations even as the council’s president looks toward lessening the punishment for some marijuana-related crimes.
Council approved legislation defining where medical marijuana dispensaries can be located, governing operations requirements and establishing a mandatory set of steps neighboring residents can use to communicate with facility managers.
At the same time, Council president Shannon Hardin announced that he is working on a proposal to reduce penalties for misdemeanor marijuana offenses.
“I’m encouraged by City Attorney Zach Klein and County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s bi-partisan reform efforts at the Statehouse. However, given the State’s track record on this issue, Columbus needs to act to keep our residents out of prison for nonviolent offenses,” Hardin said.
Hardin says the American Civil Liberties Union has found that, nationwide, African Americans are nearly four times more likely to be arrested on drug charges than their white counterparts and, according to the Drug Policy Alliance’s estimates, while African Americans represent 14 percent of regular drug users they account for 37 percent of people arrested for drug offenses.
Council plans to draft code changes to reduce penalties for marijuana possession in the first quarter of 2019, Hardin said.