Boone County became the second in Northern Kentucky to prohibit medical cannabis businesses within county borders.
At a meeting on Tuesday, the Boone County Fiscal Court unanimously voted yes on an ordinance prohibiting medical cannabis businesses in the county. The yes votes included Judge/Executive Gary Moore and Commissioners Cathy Flaig, Chet Hand and Jesse Brewer.
Boone County now joins Campbell County in prohibiting medical cannabis businesses. Kenton County conducted a first reading of its own prohibition ordinance at its June 11 meeting.
“It would be wise for us to go ahead and pass the second reading prohibiting it in Boone with the concept that — some may see this no vote as a placeholder so that it allows us time to consider the other options which are to allow it or to place it on the ballot or to continue to say no which would take no further action,” Moore said.
Medical cannabis will be legal in Kentucky on Jan. 1, 2025. As such, cities and counties across the Bluegrass State have until June 30 to create regulations that would allow or prohibit those types of businesses to operate. Cities must have those regulations in place by June 30 so the state can begin issuing licenses. If those businesses start operations, they will be grandfathered against any future regulation.
Boone County Administrator Matthew Webster explained that the county’s prohibition ruling would apply to the cities within the county—Florence, Union and Walton—until each city’s legislative body makes an official decision on whether or not to prohibit cannabis businesses within its jurisdiction.
“This is countywide,” Webster said. “However, a city can then choose to opt back in, so this vote would not necessarily prohibit it in all of Boone County — the cities would have the ability to make that decision for themselves.”
“Until the city acts, our no would apply to them,” Moore said.
Monday night, Union’s Commission voted to prohibit cannabis businesses within the city while Florence City Council voted to place a prohibition question on the November ballot.
Commissioner Chet Hand emphasized that Boone County’s ordinance does not ban medical cannabis within the county, it only prohibits medical cannabis businesses.
“I think it’s probably a good idea to mention that this is not about yes or no medical cannabis — that’s already approved by the state legislature, s this has nothing to do with whether that’s legal or not,” Hand said. “This has everything to do with do we allow the business to operate in our county.”
Despite the fiscal court’s unanimous vote, one Boone County resident, Marvin Armstrong, voiced opposition to the prohibition ordinance. Armstrong argued that allowing medical cannabis dispensaries would benefit the community economically.
“I can promise you right now if you let dispensaries come to Boone County, there won’t be a single gram of cannabis sold in Boone County more than that it’s already being sold now,” he said. “The difference is that it will be regulated, it will be tested and will be a safer product for the citizens of Boone County.”
Conversely, a different Boone County resident, Sheila Scalf, spoke against medical cannabis businesses. Scalf said she was in favor of the prohibition ordinance and didn’t feel the businesses were right for Boone County.
“I don’t feel like this is safe for our children,” she said. “We have enough crime going on now and a lot of these dispensaries, they get robbed because they’re gonna have cash money there, and I don’t think the banks will deal with them, and I just really don’t think that we need that in our county.”
