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16 <br />STUDY OF MEDICAL CANNABIS MANUFACTURERS AND CANNABIS FACILITIES <br />CITY OF SAINT ANTHONY VILLAGE <br /> <br />• Many of the medical conditions for which medical cannabis is allowed mean they <br />are vulnerable due to their medical conditions; <br />• Due to federal law, credit card companies will not authorize transactions <br />involving medical cannabis, which forces medical cannabis distributors to operate <br />as ‘cash only’ businesses; <br />• Insurance companies will not cover medical marijuana and the cost of medical <br />cannabis ranges from $55 to $85 per gram; totaling an average of $500 per cash <br />transaction. <br />• Due to the uncovered, high cost of medical marijuana there has developed a black <br />market for stolen medical marijuana which is then sold to qualified patients and <br />others at a lower cost. <br />As a result, the study concluded that medical cannabis creates a public safety concern, <br />including a serious security concern for patients visiting medical cannabis distributors, an <br />increase risk of employee theft, an increased risk of burglary and non-employee theft from the <br />building.9 <br />To address these concerns, the City of Bloomington adopted licensing requirements for <br />cannabis facilities that included maintaining records of transactions; restricting the hours of <br />operation to 7:00 am to 7:00 pm; requiring security that mirror the security procedures required <br />by the Minnesota Department of Health; limiting exterior signage to minimize attention; require <br />an ATM so that patients do not have to carry cash; requiring city or police inspections; <br />prohibiting paraphernalia or other merchandise.10 The City of Bloomington also requires a <br />1,000-foot buffer between cannabis facilities and schools. <br />In addition to these controls, Bloomington’s study recommended limiting the number of <br />distribution facilities to one per 100,000 city residents, which the ordinance adopted. According <br />to the U.S. Census Bureau, Bloomington has a population of approximately 83,000 residents. By <br />comparison, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the City of St. Anthony’s population at <br />approximately 8,600 residents.11 <br /> 9 See City of Bloomington, Request for Council Action, Case 10000G-15, dated October 19, <br />2015. <br />10 Id. 11 Id. <br />24