Opposition to Another Annapolis Cannabis Dispensary - 2061 Generals Highway

Kind Therapeutics seeks to place a medical marijuana dispensary at 2061 Generals Highway, which is located at the Gateway to Parole next to the Saltworks Creek restoration, beside Annapolis Bowl, a school bus stop, adjacent to Matthew Weller's former Farm Outlet, and behind the OpenPath Products office building. It is only a mile from the new medical marijuana dispensary on West Street in Annapolis. The Capital recently published an article about Kind Therapeutics. ( http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/for_the_record/ac-cn-marijuana-opioid-zimmerman-0320-story.html )

The County established specific criteria for the location of these facilities and Kind Therapeutics requires no less than seven zoning variances due to its selection of a site on Generals Highway in close proximity to residentially zoned property.

On May 21, 2018, the Anne Arundel County Council unanimously passed Bill 24-18, which now prohibits variances from being granted to the standards for locating marijuana dispensaries. The Council debated and decided that facilities should only be located where they meet the required setbacks from residentially zoned property and schools.

To get around this legal restriction, South County District 7 Councilman Jerry Walker has for unknown reasons introduced an “Emergency” Bill 84-18 ( https://www.aacounty.org/departments/county-council/legislation/bills-and-resolutions/an-emergency-ordinance-concerning-zoning--general-provisions--licensed-premises-of-licensed-dispensaries-of-medical-cannabis ), which will uniquely grandfather Kind Therapeutics so that they can receive zoning variances and set up shop at the gateway to Parole. Mr. Walker has proposed this Bill that solely affects Kind Therapeutics as an Emergency ordinance because he says it is “necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, welfare, and property”. This bill is not the result of any real emergency, but just the result of industry lobbying by Kind Therapeutics. Public testimony and Council voting on this Bill will occur on September 4, 2018.

This is not a petition about the appropriateness of medical marijuana use. This petition is about the unsuitability of this particular location for a dispensary since it will adversely impact local residents, as well as businesses and the public who regularly travel Generals Highway. It is not compatible with this gateway location to Parole. Also, there is no need for yet a third dispensary when there is another dispensary recently built on West Street just east of Rt. 2 and one just south on Rt. 2 in Edgewater. There is sufficient access to medical marijuana in the Annapolis area already.

There are many ways that a dispensary at Parole will negatively alter the character of the neighborhood, not the least of which is traffic. Generals Highway is already highly congested, and the problem will worsen with the upcoming assisted living center and events like the Renaissance Festival. The traffic is not only inconvenient, but increasingly dangerous. A location that requires marijuana shoppers to make dangerous turns onto Generals Highway at Parole is just a bad idea.

While you may or may not support medical cannabis and there are certainly divergent views on this issue, locating a dispensary on Generals Highway at the entrance to Parole is not acceptable.