Jackson passes ordinance legalizing medical marijuana

Editor's note: The following story has been edited to correct the date for the public hearing. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

A new ordinance approved Monday night by the Jackson Board of Aldermen will make it legal to possess medical-grade marijuana, but not until after it can be legally dispensed in Missouri.

According to the ordinance, which went into effect immediately upon passage, qualified people can have medical marijuana in the City of Jackson as long as it has been legally prescribed and dispensed by a licensed medical marijuana dispensary. However, licensing of any medical marijuana dispensaries in Missouri won’t happen for several more months, so technically medical marijuana cannot be legally possessed in Jackson, according to city attorney Tom Ludwig, who drafted the ordinance.

The ordinance states “it is not unlawful for a qualifying patient to have in his/her possession marijuana that has been legally prescribed to said qualifying patient by a licensed health care professional and dispensed to said qualifying patient by a licensed medical marijuana dispensary facility.”

The ordinance goes on to say “it is not unlawful for a primary caregiver as defined by the State of Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to have in his/her possession marijuana that has been legally prescribed by a licensed health care professional and dispensed by a licensed medical marijuana facility to a qualifying patient who has designated the person as the primary caregiver in an identification card issued by the State of Missouri.”

The Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services will begin accepting patient and caregiver identification applications in early July, according to a timeline on the DHSS website.

Under the new ordinance, any “legally dispensed marijuana shall be kept in a container delineated as medical marijuana under the laws of the State of Missouri.”

Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment last fall allowing the use of medical marijuana by people with a medically-qualified need. Missouri will begin accepting applications to cultivate, produce and dispense medical marijuana beginning Aug. 3 and the state is expected to award licenses to production and dispensary facilities a few months after that.

The Jackson Planning & Zoning Commission has scheduled a public hearing June 12 to gather public input on a proposed ordinance related to the zoning of medical marijuana-related businesses. Jackson Mayor Dwain Hahs has indicated he hopes the board can act on the zoning ordinance in July.

jwolz@semissourian.com

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