Philly City Council Discusses Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Now that medical marijuana use has been passed into law in the state of Pennsylvania (as is being done in many states around the country), it is up to individual cities to pass zoning regulations for the location of medical dispensaries where patients can go to get their prescriptions filled. A committee of the Philadelphia City Council convened last week to determine where pot can be grown and distributed within city limits, all in a way that will placate residents’ concerns about the dispensaries’ proximity to schools and other sensitive landmarks.

The special committee of the City Council met recently to discuss the zoning of medical marijuana dispensaries.

Marty Gregorski of the city planning commission was quoted by Newsworks as saying that the original plan for marijuana dispensary zoning would have kept dispensaries away from churches. For practical reasons, that part of the zoning bill has been dropped. The original version of the bill said: “One-thousand feet from other regulated uses, 500 feet from religious use, hotels, convention and civic centers, schools up to the 12th grade and public playgrounds.”

Paula Burns, also of the planning commission, was adamant in assuring the public that the new law would not have stoners roaming the streets smoking pot on the sidewalks. The medical marijuana dispensaries will resemble nothing so much as a doctor’s office, she said, with “waiting chairs, a receptionist, and maybe someone at a counter where you can discuss the referral.” Burns clarified that physicians are not actually prescribing pot, but simply “giving a referral to meet with medical marijuana pharmacist or doctor at the dispensary itself.”

Without removing the line about churches in the zoning bill, experts say, it could become very hard to find any place suitable for the dispensaries. Burns pointed out that most churches are occupied on the weekend or in the evening on a weekday, so it didn’t seem necessary to “protect” them from medical dispensaries. If recreational pot became legal – something that Newsworks called an “eventuality” and said was probably about five years down the road – then the zoning would have to be changed.