City enacts moratorium, until March, on cannaboid businesses

by Tom Coombe
At least temporarily, the city of Ely is applying the brakes and delaying the opening of cannabis-based businesses in the city limits.
Council members unanimously approved a moratorium that would curtail any permits for sale of cannabinoid products until March 7, or until an ordinance is enacted related to cannabis products.
City attorney Kelly Klun presented the moratorium and said many other cities around the state have taken similar measures in light of state legislative action earlier this year legalizing the sale of those products
Klun quickly noted that the moratorium does not impact existing businesses that are already selling those products.
“This moratorium would allow for current existing sales,” said Klun. “If you have this product currently on your shelf, this product may remain... We are aware that there are some sales of cannabis products, but those have been done in existing businesses within a small product set.”
The moratorium, Klun explained, comes partly in response to recent inquiries about the opening of cannabis-based businesses.
“We have received requests from two individuals looking to start full scale or full operation CBD or CBD/smoke shop relative to THC,” said Klun.
She added “it’s not that we’re not willing to allow this to occur, but we would like to have a licensing mechanism. We would like to know who’s selling.”
The moratorium will allow the city to develop an ordinance and permitting mechanisms for completion by early-March, if not sooner.
In the meantime, those businesses that are already selling cannabis-based products must meet existing state requirements.
Harold Langowski, the city’s clerk-treasurer, noted that Ely’s first responders recently had a medical call related to an overdose of cannaboids and indicated that “some of these products have a much higher concentration, which is leading to situations like that.”