As Orange County officials come together to decide if medical marijuana dispensaries will be allowed in the county, patients vying for easy access to treatment are crying foul.
Christina Cusack has multiple sclerosis, which affects how she walks and drives.
Hearing that Central Florida’s largest county was considering a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries was hard for Cusack to hear.
“I can drive, but I’m not a safe driver, so I try not to do it,” she said, adding that local governments should defer to the will of the voters. “I don’t think they have the right to do something like that. I mean, we voted. We made a decision.”
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In June, the state imposed a set of rules for dispensaries that gave local governments two choices: Allow dispensaries to set up shop anywhere pharmacies can open, or ban them altogether.
Cities like Oviedo, Deltona and Longwood, and Flagler County welcomed dispensaries, with some restrictions.
Orlando, Winter Park, Winter Garden, Apopka and numerous others have banned them.
A public hearing to discuss the issue in Orange County is scheduled for Tuesday.
Cox Media Group
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