The Wright City Planning and Zoning Board gave first-round approval to a proposed medical marijuana dispensary this week, setting it up for final approval by the board of aldermen next Thursday.
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The Wright City Planning and Zoning Board gave first-round approval to a proposed medical marijuana dispensary this week, setting it up for final approval by the board of aldermen next Thursday.
The proposed dispensary would be located in the commercial block at the corner of Veterans Memorial Parkway and Highway H. Greene Fox, the company proposing the dispensary, has submitted plans to demolish the existing buildings at the site to make room for a facility that would be custom built to meet security and customer service requirements.
Greene Fox has already received a state license to operate a dispensary at the location registered under the name GF Wright City. Wright City requires medical marijuana facilities to additionally receive a city conditional use permit (CUP) in order to operate in city limits.
Planning and zoning board members voted unanimously March 15 to recommend approval of a CUP application from Greene Fox, stating only that the business should reorient its building footprint to facilitate better traffic flow. The CUP application will be presented to the Wright City Board of Aldermen March 25 for a final vote.
Representatives of Greene Fox testified during the March 15 planning and zoning hearing that the dispensary will meet all security requirements and distribution restrictions mandated by the state government. Customers will be screened at the entrance before being allowed to meet with a consultant, said representative Zelletta Wyatt.
“We’re putting in as many risk preventions as possible,” Wyatt said. She added that all products at the dispensary will be pre-packaged, tested and labeled according to state requirements.
Wyatt said the dispensary will have just under 20 employees, and is predicted to generate $90,000 in sales taxes in its first year.
Several local residents came to speak in favor of permitting the dispensary, while others shared concerns about the site. In response to concerns about traffic from the business affecting drivers on Veterans Memorial Parkway, City Administrator Jim Schuchmann said the city should require rearranging the building’s footprint for better traffic flow as a condition of approval.
Schuchmann also reminded the company that Wright City’s ordinances require sufficient ventilation to mitigate any odors from the building.
Among the local residents speaking in favor of the dispensary’s benefits for the community was Karey Owens.
“This is not Jimmy down the street who’s going to sell you a little bit for a Saturday night. This is a medical product, and this dispensary should be judged the same way we would judge a pharmacy,” Owens said. “This is a product that ... has been helping people with a variety of medical issues.”
Others speaking that evening expressed the same view, including a patient who said her chronic pain has been managed by medical cannabis.
Only one person spoke out strongly against the dispensary during the hearing. Pastor Joe Purl warned that allowing more drugs to be brought into the community could invite crime and potentially harm poor families who are already at risk for drug abuse.
“Challenges are already there that we need to deal with, and we don’t need more stresses on our system,” Purl commented.
Police Chief Matt Eskew also commented during the hearing. He said there are some concerns about medical marijuana ending up in the hands of non-patients and juveniles, and that he also wants to ensure the business has adequate security measures to prevent it from becoming a target for break-ins.
