Falls Adopts Ordinance to Regulate Medical Marijuana

The Falls Township Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance to guide future medical marijuana operations on Nov. 7.

The governing body voted unanimously this week to enact the local ordinance, which sets regulations for the production and distribution of medical marijuana and outlines where said operations could be located.

"No township, borough or city had anything in their zoning laws to deal with this kind of business," Supervisor Chairman Bob Harvie said. "If you’re not restricting where different business and operations can go, they can almost go anywhere."

The board did not want that to happen, which is why the ordinance specifies that medical marijuana operations are not permitted within 1,000 feet of a school, park, daycare center, community center or worship site. Medical marijuana operations would be permitted in Falls Township's highway commercial; materials processing and manufacturing; and farming and mining districts.

Township solicitor Michael Clarke said officials have been waiting for guidelines from the state. The board, opting to be proactive, wanted to enact an ordinance outlining regulations, which Clarke said might need to be tweaked once the state provides direction.

Several members of the public commended the Supervisors.

Falls Township resident Guido Mariani thanked the board for its prompt attention in adopting the ordinance.

"I’m sure we're in safe hands," Mariani said.

The ordinance differentiates between a medical marijuana grower and a medical marijuana dispensary. A grower or processor is an entity registered by the Department of Health under the Medical Marijuana Act to grow and process medical marijuana, while a dispensary is an entity - like a pharmacy - registered by the Department of Health under the Medical Marijuana Act to dispense medical marijuana. The ordinance requires that growing and dispensing operations be conducted in separate facilities.

The Falls Township Supervisors put regulations in place as the state’s Medical Marijuana Program is finalized. The statewide legislation was signed into law in April. Its implementation is expected to take 18 to 24 months from that date, according to the state. Once implemented, medical marijuana will be offered to patients who are under a physician’s care for the treatment of a serious medical condition.

Under the local ordinance, which takes effect five days after its Nov. 7 adoption, the medical marijuana grower and dispensary are required to "operate entirely within an indoor, enclosed, and secure facility." As a condition of operation, the grower and dispensary would need to provide a security plan specifying the type of 24-hour security, as well as tracking, record keeping, record retention, and a surveillance system.

A woman who identified herself as a health clinician for more than 20 years told the supervisors that she is interested in applying for a dispensary and operating at a Lower Bucks County location.

'This is highly regulated," she said. "If we are granted that wonderful gift of dispensing the medical marijuana, our plan for security is beyond what the state recommends."

Medical marijuana would be dispensed via oils, lotions and pills, she said.

"No one will be smoking marijuana," she said, adding that marijuana has proven to be medically beneficial in 20 different diagnoses. "I have personally seen the benefits from cancer patients."

Hours of operation for both growers and dispensers would be limited to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Exterior sales and sidewalk displays would be forbidden. Drive-through services would not be permitted and the use could not be advertised on radio or TV. Minors would not be permitted inside either a growing or dispensing facility unless accompanied by a caregiver.