Hamilton City Council is preparing to consider changes to the city’s zoning ordinance that would allow medical and adult-use marijuana dispensaries in limited commercial areas under strict regulations. The proposal follows months of discussion by city officials, the Planning Commission, and the Ordinance Review Commission after Ohio voters approved Issue 2 legalizing recreational marijuana in November 2023. Hamilton previously enacted ordinances prohibiting adult-use cannabis cultivators, processors, and dispensaries within the city. City leaders later revisited the issue as state regulations evolved. Under the proposed zoning changes, marijuana dispensaries would only be permitted as conditional uses in Community Business and Business Planned Development districts. Any dispensary would require Planning Commission review and final approval by Hamilton City Council. The proposal includes several restrictions, including a requirement that dispensaries be located only on arterial roads and not within historic districts or directly adjacent to residential properties. Additional buffer requirements would prohibit dispensaries within 1,000 feet of schools, preschools, child care facilities, and youth centers, and within 500 feet of parks, churches, libraries, and opioid treatment programs. The proposal would also ban marijuana lounges, cultivation facilities, processing facilities, and testing facilities within the city. City officials are also proposing tighter regulations on tobacco, nicotine, and vaping retailers, including new buffer requirements, landscaping standards, and restrictions on operating near residential uses. Planning Director Lauren Nelson told City Council Wednesday, May 27 that only three dispensaries could operate city wide under the proposed rules. The Hamilton Planning Commission reviewed the proposal during a public meeting on May 7 and recommended approval. Hamilton City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposal June 10, with a second reading planned for June 24.