Roswell plans to limit areas where medical marijuana dispensaries can operate inside the north Fulton town.
During a Monday meeting, Roswell City Council ordered a 90-day moratorium on zoning and local business applications for dispensaries selling low THC oil or products.
The moratorium will give officials time to decide where dispensaries can be located and to make changes to Roswell’s Unified Development Code, Councilman Mike Palermo said.
Patients who receive a doctor’s approval are allowed to use the medicine to treat illnesses. The low THC oil will continue to be available at pharmacies during the moratorium.
The state allows for the dispensing of oils with a THC content up to 5% of the compound. Licensing can be issued by the State Board of Pharmacy or the Georgia Access to Medical Cannibal Commission.
While Roswell cannot outright ban dispensaries, the city can decide on location through zoning restrictions.
Last year, Alpharetta amended its city code to allow businesses that sell or produce “low THC oil,” or medical marijuana oil to operate in light industrial districts.
Doraville passed a law last January allowing only two dispensaries to open in the city following its own temporary moratorium.
Medical marijuana grower Trulieve Georgia has dispensaries in eight states and was one of two such businesses approved by the Medical Cannabis Commission in September to open five dispensaries in the state. Trulieve is planning locations in Marietta, Macon and Pooler. Trulieve’s greenhouse is located in Adel, Georgia.
The other grower, Botanical Sciences, is located in Glennville, Georgia and has not yet announced its dispensary locations.
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