County bans use of cannabis on county-owned property, plans dispensary moratorium

Those planning to use cannabis to boost their appetite for food at the Rice County Fair this year will need to do so beforehand and secure a ride.

The ride is to avoid driving while under the effects of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana that gives users a “high” and can cause a wide range of effects, like boosting appetite or causing paranoia. The reason for taking the substance prior to attending the function is because the Rice County Board of Commissioners banned the use of cannabis on county-owned property Tuesday morning.

“We brought this back to the board after some brief discussions about regulating actual public use on county-owned property,” Rice County Environmental Services Director Julie Runkel told commissioners. “… It just prohibits use on county-owned property, and this would include also the county fairgrounds.”

A brief public hearing was held to give people opportunity to express their support or objection to the ordinance, but no one spoke at the hearing. The ordinance passed unanimously.

It just bans smoking cannabis and cannabis products. It does not apply to hemp-derived THC products like gummies and drinks with THC.

While cities may override the county’s regulation, they may not allow cannabis use on county-owned property in said city. Outside the county, cannabis may not be smoked anywhere except someone’s house or a business or event where the act is explicitly permitted.

That’s not the only cannabis-related ordinance discussed at the regular business meeting. The state’s Office of Cannabis Management begins accepting applications for licenses to operate a cannabis-related business July 1, but Runkel said it would be a while before they actually begin handing them out.

While this process plays out at the state level, the county is looking to study what local regulations might need to be in place for the new industry.

“At this time, we’re proposing to do a moratorium while we can come back and do the local regulations that we need in place relating to cannabis, whether it be zoning regulations as well as the registration and all those pieces,” Runkel said.

The second ordinance includes the moratorium and the study. Along with a public hearing set for 9 a.m. July 9 in the Board of Commissioners’ meeting room, commissioners set an intent to enact to pass the ordinance after the hearing.