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Northwest Ohio one step closer to having medical marijuana dispensary

Only one barrier now remains before one of the first medical marijuana dispensaries in Northwest Ohio can move forward with plans.

TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Only one barrier now remains before one of the first medical marijuana dispensaries in Northwest Ohio can move forward with plans.

Tuesday night, Toledo City Council voted 10 to 1 approving a special use permit for Glass City Alternatives LLC at 3203 and 3209 W Sylvania Avenue.

Councilwoman Dr. Cecelia Adams, an educator, was the only no vote. She said she doesn't stand for this.

"It is going to be a cash cow. Yes, it is going to generate some money for the community. I just don't think that we are that desperate that we have to go with a substance that we are not certain about," said Dr. Adams.

Council members bantered for a while about the morality of medical marijuana, before being reminded by Council President Matt Cherry, that is not what the vote was about.

"Council's role through this entire process is to see if the building, the property, the area, is the right land use," said Councilman Tom Waniewski.

The state could decide on the licenses in as little as a month, with only two total up for grabs in Lucas County.

Marijuana remains an illegal substance on a federal level, which would prevent this business from taking part in any credit card transactions.

"We expect transactions to be handled through local banks, but as far as the larger banks, the regional or national banks they are staying away from this at this point in time," said Mark Jacobs, an attorney representing Glass City Alternatives LLC.

It is the all cash which is causing some neighbors to worry about the security. The business said they will have a full time security guard as well as a state of the art security system, all which they had to detail in their application to the state.

This property, which has sat vacant for a while, sits in Councilman Tom Waniewski's district. He said he is not worried about the safety.

"I don't see the fact that we may be selling a product that will help people's chronic illness as a problem, in fact I think the community should be welcoming of that," said Waniewski.

City council does have the ability to evoke a special use permit after a year if it is causing an issue.

If the business does get the license from the state, the earliest doors could open is September of this year.

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