Columbia drafts zoning regulations for medical marijuana

Columbia’s Planning and Zoning Commisson discussed zoning standards for medical marijuana facilities during a work session Wednesday.

The commission recommends that facilities must be atleast 1,000 feet of schools, day cares and churches.

Each of the four facilitiy types, cultivation facilities, medical marijuana-infused product manufacturers, testing facilities and dispensaries, will have specific zoning regulations.

Commissioner Michael Macmann said the number of each facility-type is based off the population from the most recent census.

“One dispensary for every twenty-thousand in population,” he said. “If you apply that to Columbia, off of the 2010 census, we get six.”

He said the number of facilities will likely change in accordance to the 2020 census population.

According to the current drafted regulations, the commission is estimating Columbia could have atleast two cultivation facilities and three marijuana-infused product manufacturers.

According to state regulations, Missouri will have two testing facilities and it’s undetermined where these facilities will open.

The state will begin accepting applications for medical marijuana facilities on Aug. 3 2019, according to draft regulations released by the DHSS.

The commission is working to get the regulations adopted by City Council by May 4th in order to meet the Department of Health and Human Services deadline for issuing application criteria.

Another Planning & Zoning work session is scheduled Wednesday, April 25 to further disuss the medical marijuana draft regulations.

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