Feb. 8—Concord Township recently became the latest Lake County community to prohibit adult-use marijuana operations following the adoption of a new state law last year.

The township trustees unanimously approved a resolution on Feb. 5 that prohibits adult-use marijuana cultivators, processors and dispensaries within the township. It went into effect immediately.

Township Administrator Andy Rose said officials will reconsider the ban after the state finalizes rules for adult-use marijuana.

“I think it was felt that it was better to just put a prohibition on. We’ll wait till the regulations come out and things shake out,” he said. “We can talk to our counterparts and our neighbors and see how things are going.”

“We just thought it was best to protect the best interests of the township,” Rose added.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are already prohibited by the township’s zoning resolution.

The state’s marijuana law went into effect on Dec. 7, after voters approved Issue 2 in the Nov. 7 general election.

The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office said that the law would “legalize and regulate the cultivation, processing, sale, purchase, possession, home grow and use of cannabis by adults at least 21 years of age.”

The state legislature can amend or repeal the measure since it was passed as a citizen-initiated statute.

The Ohio Capital Journal reported in December that the state Senate and House of Representatives have considered separate measures to amend the state’s marijuana law.

Neither proposal had been approved as of Feb. 6, according to the state legislature’s website.

The state Division of Cannabis Control added on its website that recreational marijuana is not currently available at licensed dispensaries. The text of the original voter-approved measure gives the division nine months to finalize rules and a process for issuing recreational marijuana licenses.

While the final details remain unclear, a number of Lake County communities have taken steps to prohibit adult-use marijuana operations, as allowed under current state law.

Painesville City Council voted to implement six-month moratoriums on new electronic smoking and vaping retail establishments and cannabis operations on Dec. 4.

Officials in Kirtland and Painesville Township voted in December to implement moratoriums on permits for adult-use marijuana retail dispensaries. The moratoriums will expire no later than July 31, 2024, though either community can vote to end its moratorium earlier.

Madison Village Council voted to table an ordinance on Jan. 22 that would ban businesses that cultivate, process or dispense adult-use marijuana. Council asked the village’s Planning and Zoning Commission to review the legislation.