Adult-Use Cannabis Will Be Permitted in Effingham

On a 3-2 vote, the Effingham City Council voted to allow the sale of adult-use cannabis within the city limits.

Actually, the vote was 2-3, since the motion before the Council was to prohibit cannabis sales. Mayor Mike Schutzbach and Commissioner Merv Gillenwater voted for the prohibition, while Commissioners Hank Stephens, Larry Micenheimer and Libby Moeller voted against the measure and to allow sales.

In a separate motion, the Council voted 5-0 to set the tax rate on cannabis sales at 3%. Sale of adult-use cannabis in Illinois will be legal as of January 1, 2020.

Schutzbach didn't see a need for Effingham to be first on the issue, that the Council could always come back to the issue once it's seen how the process works. He said he thought Effingham should not be the face of encouraging cannabis sales.

Gillenwater said his experience in the military and law enforcement caused him to deal with many people under the influence of cannabis and said those experiences weren't good. He said he just couldn't vote to approve sales in Effingham.

Stephens said purchases will occur in Effingham or elsewhere and equated it to the sale of alcohol and to gaming. He said to say No to cannabis is "perhaps hypocritical".

Micenheimer said he's tried to do his homework on the issue and mentioned during the meeting he had spoken with officials in another state where Green Thumb Industries operates and said municipal officials talked in glowing terms. He is also hopeful of generating tax dollars to address those in need of treatment for drug abuse.

Moeller said it's "time to jump on board" and since it's here and a source of revenue is available, the City needed to move ahead to allow sales.

City officials will now work on zoning guidelines as to where sales can take place. The sales of recreational marijuana will likely take place in a different location than the medical marijuana sales facility on Effingham's north side.

About 10 people spoke on the issue ahead of the vote, almost evenly divided between those supportive of or opposed to the sales.