New Baltimore to Revisit Medical Marijuana Moratorium

As New Baltimore officials mull over a medical marijuana ordinance, City Council will decide Monday whether to extend a cultivating moratorium.

Revisiting the issue will take place when the previous moratorium expires Oct. 1. Council will likely determine whether to extend it for another six months. While industrial cultivation will be permitted under the working ordinance, planning and council officials are still debating residential growth in the city, Clerk Marcia Shinska said.

Although well-known medical marijuana dispensary Big Daddy's Hydroponics, formerly of Chesterfield, told Patch it aims open next to the police station Green Street in New Baltimore, the city is unable to address its plans until an official ordinance is in place, according to the community officials.

That document is also necessary for police to maintain public safety, Police Chief Tim Wiley said.

"There's just too much ambiguity right now to enforce," Wiley said of the Medical Marihuana Act.

He added that any establishment in the city would be regulated the same, regardless of its location.

"In terms of proximity to the police station, I don't think that matters much one way or the other," he said of Big Daddy's plans.

The council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday in City Hall.