Photo by clarissa.stark

Harry Thomas, Jr. had planned to do before he resigned, but fellow Ward 5 resident Councilmember Vincent Orange (D-At Large) has stepped in to propose legislation that would limit the number of medical marijuana cultivation centers and dispensaries that could be located in any one ward.

According to the legislation he filed today, no more than five cultivation centers or two dispensaries would be allowed to locate in any ward. (All told, the District’s medical marijuana program could have up to 10 cultivation centers and five dispensaries.) While that isn’t much of a problem for dispensaries — applications for licenses to run them were spread evenly across the city — it will certainly prove troublesome for cultivation centers, which have largely been clustered in Ward 5 due to the price and zoning of the land it has available. Just last week seven cultivation center licenses — six of them in Ward 5 — were passed on to ANCs for their input.

Ever since the possible medical marijuana cultivation center sites were made public late last year, Ward 5 residents have expressed concerns over everything from housing values to crime. (Not even Montel Williams could soothe their nerves.)

At a meeting on Monday to discuss a special election in the wake of Thomas’ resignation, residents placed the cultivation center sites atop the list of concerns they would press with the council in the coming weeks. Last year, Orange indicated that he would sign on to Thomas’ measure; this week, he told DCist that he would be introducing the legislation himself.

According to a notice circulated to the council, the legislation will be introduced as an emergency on January 17. Being that it is an emergency bill, it would require nine votes to pass — and it’s questionable whether he’ll be able to muster that many votes.

Moreover, there’s a more serious question — is Orange’s proposal even workable for cultivation centers? Because of the type of zoning where the centers are limited to setting up shop, there’s only a few places in the city that’s available to them — and yes, most are in Ward 5. Should this pass, Orange would either have to rewrite the zoning restrictions on cultivation centers or somehow encourage budding entrepreneurs that have already submitted applications to start looking in the few other places available in wards 4, 6, 7 and 8 that could be used.

H/t to Mike DeBonis

Medical Marijuana Cultivation Center And