Lehighton Borough Council is studying a zoning ordinance in preparation for a marijuana dispensary which wants to come to town.

According to the Department of Health, Local Dispensaries LLC and Serenity HealthCare PA LLC have applied for two of the licenses and have listed Lehighton as the area in which they plan to be located.

Recently, the state Department of Health said it is planning a second round issuing licenses to businesses wanting to open medical marijuana dispensaries. Four of the licenses would go to areas in the northeast.

The licenses would permit the sale of medical marijuana oil, liquids, pills and other products.

Carbon County Commissioners have sent a letter of support for the dispensary.

Commissioner Bill O’Gurek said the company has been looking at a site in Lehighton on Route 209, likely where the Castle Grill used to be located.

“We support it from a business standpoint and that it would create jobs and tax revenue. We decided that if a company wants to locate in Carbon, we are supportive of that,” O’Gurek said.

He added, “The commissioners are open-minded about something that is legal in Pennsylvania. It has to meet all of the compliance regulations, and, in that respect, it’s similar to a pharmacy.”

On Monday, solicitor James Nanovic asked the council to read through the ordinance to make sure there wasn’t any language in it they objected to before it goes into official review by the planning commission.

Once the borough’s planning commission passes it, then the council will review it for passage, borough Manager Nicole Beckett said.

Beckett told the council the proposed ordinance was drafted to get “rid of any gray areas.”

Council member Darryl Arner asked why they were reviewing this now. They typically review ordinances at the same time as other municipalities.

“We are two years out,” Beckett said. “And we have this issue now.”

The ordinance

The proposed ordinance, its purpose is “to establish a process and standards for the establishment, construction, and operations of various medical marijuana facilities in strict conformity with the Pennsylvania ‘Medical Marijuana Act’.”

The ordinance will determine where medical marijuana dispensaries can be located, as well as where medical marijuana can be grown and where any medical marijuana academic clinic research centers can be located, which is an accredited medical school in the state that works with an acute care hospital also within the state.

The ordinance also spells out what is considered medical marijuana, what a dispensary is and who can be a grower or processor for medical purposes.

In the ordinance, a research center would be considered a medical office and a grower or processor would be under manufacturing (small scale), and a dispensary would fall under retail (small scale).

A research center will only be permitted “to grow medical marijuana for the purpose of on-site clinical research and not for gifting, donating or sale, provided such activity occurs indoors within an enclosed secure building, which includes electronic locking systems, electronic surveillance and other features” required by the state DOH.

A grower or processor will only be allowed to “grow medical marijuana indoors within an enclosed, secure building, which includes electronic locking systems, electronic surveillance and other feature … and not within a trailer, cargo container, mobile or modular unit, mobile home, recreational vehicle or other motor vehicle.”

A medical marijuana dispensary would only be allowed to “dispense medical marijuana indoors within an enclosed, secure building, which includes electronic locking systems, electronic surveillance and other features ... and not within a trailer, cargo container, mobile or modular unit, mobile home, recreational vehicle or other motor vehicle.”

The ordinance would also prohibit dispensaries from having a drive-thru service, outdoor seating areas and vending machines, consumption on the premises and direct or home delivery service.

Dispensaries will not be allowed to be located “within 1,000 feet of the property line of a public, private or parochial school, a charter school or a day-care center.”

This does not apply to a grower, but a grower cannot also operate as a dispensary.

The ordinance does not restrict the location of a medical research center, but does require a planting buffer between the facility and any adjoining residential use or district.

For all three facilities, the ordinance does prohibit any “emission of dust, fumes, vapors, odor or waste into the environment from any facility where medical marijuana growing, processing or testing occurs.” This is in compliance with environmental protection requirements.

The council read through the draft and approved the language.