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Medical marijuana dispensary ban extension voted down in Jacksonville Beach

Jacksonville Beach city leaders have to go back to the drawing board on their medical marijuana policy.

On Monday night, a proposal to extend the ban on medical marijuana dispensaries was voted down.

Action News Jax’s Michael Yoshida was inside the meeting as the vote took place.

He spoke to city leaders about what's next for possibly bringing medical marijuana to the beach.

A lot happened at the meeting, but the main takeaway is that there will be no permanent ban on dispensaries in Jacksonville Beach.

The current moratorium is set to expire on Dec. 5. So, what does that mean for people living in the city?

After Monday’s vote, the city manager, attorney and director of planning will meet and likely come up with two options to bring before the council. One would be to extend the moratorium another six months. The second would be to move forward with allowing dispensaries in Jax Beach.

People voiced their concerns on the issue, many arguing to allow dispensaries, saying convenient access is needed for patients. Others voiced concerns about property value and having dispensaries in their neighborhoods.

Mayor Charlie Latham argued for extending a moratorium to allow him and others to go to the Legislature to get more local control over where dispensaries can go. Right now they can only be regulated as pharmacies are, which is why some are concerned about them popping up on every street corner.

Still at the end of the night, the council voted against a permanent ban.

“It’s phenomenal for patients, it’s phenomenal for access, and I’m excited that maybe we now have a little bit more time to show them of why cannabis is so important for our beaches,” McClain said.

”Come up with a couple of alternatives -- one that might be oriented towards a moratorium, one that might be oriented towards moving forward without a moratorium,” Latham said.

If past voting is any indication of how the council will vote in the future, it’s likely a six-month extension of the moratorium would pass 4-3.

As for the current moratorium and its expiration of Dec. 5, even if it expires before any new legislation is passed, dispensaries would still have to go through an application process, which still has to be written. So, the expiration of the current moratorium doesn’t mean dispensaries would just start popping up.

There is a lot for the council to figure out as it moves forward on this issue.