- February 9, 2025
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A newly passed legislation regarding medical marijuana legalization means the City of Port Orange will have to repeal ordinances the city already has in place.
The zoning regulations dealing with medical marijuana in Ordinance 2015-34 can no longer be enforced due to the legislation.
“I don't like it when the state comes to us and tells us what our community standards should be,” Port Orange Mayor Burnette said. “That should be up to each community to decide.”
The legislation was enacted by the Florida Legislature during the 2016 General Election.
Now, if local communities like Port Orange plan on having medical marijuana treatment centers they cannot be regulated any more than the pharmacies already are or regulate the number of facilities.
The legislation also prevents cities from regulating the cultivation and processing of marijuana to the state.
The decision Port Orange will have to make is whether or not the Council will ban or not ban MMTC dispensing facilities.
From here the the city attorney and the community development director will have to go through the ordinances and graft an ordinance that falls in line with the state legislation. Burnett said he plans to see the ordinance changes on an agenda within the next 60 days.
“The good thing is that this has the potential to help real people and give them an alternative to opioids, which is, I think, very dangerous,” Burnette said.
The Port Orange Observer hits driveways July 13. Send story ideas to Nichole Osinski at [email protected].
