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May 21, 2024 <br />Page 2 <br />location, and related concerns. Municipal sales, law enforcement, and other administrative or <br />General Code aspects of the law are left to separate consideration by City Council. <br />Land Use Aspects of Cannabis Legalization. The legislation creates several categories of <br />licensing for Cannabis business activity. The State OCM will assume all requirements for <br />licensing of cannabis businesses, including retailers, manufacturers, transporters, and <br />warehousing. The law includes all types of cannabis product, including hemp-THC products and <br />medical cannabis. <br />The law provides that the City may not prohibit the business uses for cannabis products due <br />merely because of the nature of the product. Therefore, where the City allows manufacturing, <br />a business that manufactures a cannabis product licensed by the State must be accommodated. <br />There can be no additional limits for these businesses, such as number of licensees, proximity <br />to other uses, etc. <br />Included in the types of licensed businesses are retailers, however, retailing can be limited by <br />the City under specific circumstances. There are six categories of retail business that are called <br />out for these limitations: Cannabis “Mezzo-businesses”, Cannabis “Micro-businesses”, <br />Cannabis Retailers, Medical Cannabis Retailers, Medical Cannabis Combination Business, and <br />Low-Potency Edible Hemp Retailer. <br />Cannabis “Mezzo-“ and “Micro-“ businesses are essentially processor facilities that may, if <br />licensed and appropriate under local zoning, qualify for a retail sales license as a component of <br />their industrial enterprise. The difference relates to licensed processing space – up to 5,000 <br />square feet for “Micro-business”, and from 5,001 to 15,000 square feet for “Mezzo-business”. <br />Cannabis retailers, by contrast, are specifically retail-oriented, in which no industrial activity <br />(manufacturing, processing, etc,) occurs. Medical cannabis retailing or combination businesses <br />are those that may retail consumer products, but are also licensed to dispense medical <br />cannabis treatments. Low potency Hemp retailers are those that are currently eligible to sell <br />such products under the prior 2022 legislation. In St. Anthony, those potential locations are <br />limited to only those also with a current tobacco sales license. <br />Local Limitations. The legislation permits the City to limit cannabis sales, with specific <br />limitations on that authority. Essentially, those limitations are as follows: <br />a.The State OCM will assume authority for licensing all cannabis and hemp-related <br />businesses. <br />b.As a part of the State’s licensing process, the OCM will contact the local government to <br />know if the City will “register” the business location, which is an information process, <br />not a licensing authority. Zoning compliance will be an aspect of local “registration”. <br />c.A City may not enact any ordinance that has the effect of prohibiting cannabis <br />businesses. <br />d.A City must provide for an allowance of at least one cannabis-retail facility, whether that <br />is a “Micro-“ or “Mezzo-“ business, a cannabis retailer. This allowance increases by one <br />additional business for each 12,500 residents.