The Warren County Commission announced during an April 30 public hearing that it plans to limit all aspects of medical marijuana production and distribution to areas intended for commercial business. A final decision on those rules could come later this month.The county is reviewing updates for its planning and zoning code to govern where medical marijuana-related businesses can operate. This follows statewide legalization through a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2018.Four stages of medical marijuana production are being considered for zoning: cultivation, manufacturing products, laboratory testing products, and dispensing to approved patients.Despite initially indicating some parts of the process could be allowed in areas zoned for agriculture or industry, commissioners said the county’s planning and zoning board recommended limiting all operations to commercial areas only.Commissioners also must decide whether different types of medical marijuana businesses must apply to the county for a conditional use permit (CUP). CUPs may include restrictions specific to an individual property, as long as those conditions don’t contradict what is allowed by state law, said Presiding Commissioner Joe Gildehaus.Commissioners said they likely will make their final ruling on the zoning code changes sometime in May.These decisions will only impact unincorporated Warren County. Local city governments must decide their own regulations.Dispensing and testingUnder the zoning changes being considered, dispensaries would be allowed without a CUP on land zoned for general business uses, such as offices or shops.A testing facility could also be built in a general business district, but only after receiving a CUP.However, planning and zoning maps for Warren County don’t currently show any areas with the “general business” zoning. That means any business that wants to establish a dispensary or testing facility in unincorporated Warren County, would first have to petition the county to change its zoning. Then the business would go through the process of getting a CUP, if necessary.Cultivation, manufacturingMedical marijuana cultivation and product manufacturing would both require a CUP, and would both be limited to areas the county designates as “commercial highway districts.”Most of the land with commercial highway zoning is along Interstate 70, with some small commercial properties along Highway 47 and other state highways. Many of the commercial zones are based around existing businesses, meaning growers and manufacturers might also have to petition for rezoning along highway property before getting a CUP.Commissioners said they felt comfortable keeping cultivation out of agricultural areas because state law requires such operations to take place entirely indoors in secure facilities. Confining those operations to be along highways also makes it easier for law enforcement to monitor their security, Gildehaus said.Gildehaus commented that commercial interests are already investing in property along Interstate 70 in Warren County, hoping the sites will eventually be usable for medical marijuana. This is despite the risk that the owners might not ever receive a state license to operate such a business, he said.A member of the public at the April 30 hearing expressed concern about restricting cultivation to highway districts, commenting that the high cost of highway frontage might mean higher costs for medical marijuana patients.Questions remainCommissioners also addressed the issue of whether medical marijuana businesses will be allowed near churches and schools.The constitutional amendment approved by voters last year establishes a 1,000-foot boundary around schools, daycares and churches, where medical marijuana-related businesses are prohibited. Local governments are allowed to reduce that setback, but county attorney Gildehaus said that is not part of the current changes.Other questions remain about how rules and regulations for medical marijuana businesses will be enforced.Regulations for medical marijuana businesses are issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Warren County Sheriff Kevin Harrison, who attended the April 30 public hearing, said he is still waiting to learn more about what local law enforcement’s role might be in enforcing those regulations.“The law enforcement education part of this is slow to come,” Harrison said. “We’re just seeing what comes out of Jeff City, how it changes and whether we have a role in (enforcement).”Further complicating the role of law enforcement is a provision allowing licensed patients to grow their own medical marijuana at home. Harrison said as-yet unknown expectations from the public and state regulators surrounding that provision could put law enforcement in a difficult situation.Industrial hempCounty officials also answered questions from the public about growing industrial hemp. Marijuana and hemp are different strains of the same plant, cannabis, but hemp lacks marijuana’s psychoactive component.Hemp has been deregulated by the state and federal government in recent years.County attorney Mark Vincent said his understanding is that Missouri law considers hemp to be a legal agricultural crop, meaning farmers who want to grow it don’t even need to consult the county. Such cultivation would need to take place on land zoned for agriculture, Vincent added.However, Harrison commented that he hopes hemp growers will communicate with the sheriff’s department about their operation. That way, deputies won’t need to open an investigation if a neighbor mistakenly reports the hemp as marijuana.Marijuana Plant File Photo