Hamilton's first marijuana dispensary could be decided by a single minute

Hamilton is one step closer to getting its first marijuana dispensary, and the contest to open it could be settled by a single minute. City council members heard testimony Wednesday night from three companies that want to build in the city's Taft Place/Governors Hill neighborhood.

Cascade Southern Ohio LLC filed its application on Aug. 15 at 12:00 a.m. GTI Ohio LLC delivered its materials to the city the same day at 12:01 a.m. A third applicant, Jushi RJK OH LLC, entered the race days later. Only one dispensary may operate within the same one mile radius, and all three proposed sites sit close together. "All three of them are located within a couple hundred yards [of] each other. They're actually all three very close to each other," said Lauren Nelson, the city's planning director.

Under the zoning ordinance, priority goes to the first application that earns council's vote. If all three are approved during the same meeting, the earliest submission takes precedence, a scenario that would hand the win to Cascade Southern Ohio.

Rob Zimmerman, a lawyer speaking on behalf of GTI Ohio, alleged that Nelson told his company it could only submit at 12:01 a.m. and did not give other applicants the same information. "We're very concerned, as you can understand I'm sure, about the apparent inconsistent treatment of applicants," Zimmerman said.

Cascade Southern Ohio wants to place its fifth UpLift Ohio dispensary in a vacant 5,800 square foot space at 877 NW Washington Blvd., a building that also houses a Shooters Sports Grill. The company anticipates employing up to 45 people and serving as many as 400 visitors a day. "We'd be using a building that has not been occupied for some time, so we think it's really a happy circumstance," said company representative Benjamin McBride.

GTI Ohio is proposing a 2,000 square foot building at 787 NW Washington Blvd., near the El Mariachi restaurant. The facility would be the company's sixth Rise Dispensary in Ohio, employing 20 people and drawing up to 300 daily customers. "We know that security is an issue," Zimmerman said. "We're very confident that your law enforcement will not experience anything negative."

If its proposal is approved, Jushi RJK OH would take over Applebee's overflow parking at 1520 Main St. to build a 2,400 square foot facility called Beyond Hello. The company already operates seven other dispensaries in the state and expects to hire up to 14 employees and serve as many as 300 customers each day. "I think the design complements the Main Street corridor," said Ian Jones, the company's architect.

Nelson emphasized that the council will make the final call. "They are the ultimate decision makers," she said, adding that the city wants oversight of anything that could negatively affect the community. Second readings and votes on each application are planned for Nov. 12, according to city documents.

Council members chose not to share their thinking on Wednesday. In July, they narrowly voted to abandon the city's ban on marijuana-related activities. Mayor Pat Moeller and council members Eric Pohlman and Timothy Naab voted against permitting dispensaries, citing concerns for Hamilton's youth, public safety and personal reasons, respectively.

The remaining four council members voted to allow dispensaries under clear conditions: none may be placed in a historic or residential district, or within 1,000 feet of a school or childcare facility. Nelson said the reversal followed officials' "due diligence into what it looked like in other communities that moved forward right away with dispensaries" after the statewide legalization of recreational cannabis in 2023.