By Paula Pyzik Scott

At the January 16 meeting of the Ada Council, the first reading of Ordinance 32-2024 was unanimously approved, preparing the Village to “Prohibit Adult Use Cannabis Operators and Medical Marijuana Cultivators, Processors, and Retail Dispensaries within the Village of Ada.”

The ordinance has been proposed for the short term, until—as Mayor David Retterer put it–”the State gets its ducks in a row.” Ohio voters approved Issue 2 in November 2023, legalizing recreational use of marijuana. However, the sale of marijuana has not yet been addressed.

Village legal counsel Jane Napier noted that the ordinance can be modified while going through second and third readings. She stressed that village can’t enact an ordinance retroactively and that more will be known in the coming weeks. She will prepare alternative language for the ordinance by the next council meeting, February 6.

On January 4, WTVG 13 Action News-Toledo said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was urging the state legislature to legalize marijuana sales in order to curb a black market and sales of unregulated products. 

Dozens of Ohio communities have enacted cannabis sales moratoriums. 

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