Considering THC product sales

Eli discussed Waldorf’s drama about getting an apartment built in the city. One thing about it inspired me to write about Janesville’s (and many other towns’) recent debacle.

Many rejected Mayor Rob Wilkening’s idea of growing Waldorf by using park space for apartments. There were many concerns with this, including bringing too many people into town, taking away park space, and growing a town that many people moved to for the sole reason that it’s as small as it is.

Eli connected that public hearing with “contributing positive change for the future.” Some may also call it moving forward, while others call it progressing.

That’s what was talked about at Janesville’s council meeting on Monday. The subject, of course, was how to approach the sale of THC in town. How does the city go about vetting people and issuing them the license to sell THC products in an efficient, yet regulated manner?

There’s so much I could say in this column that it could possibly take a whole newspaper page. But I’ll piecemeal what I thought were the highlights.

Janesville’s city attorney Jason Moran sat in on the discussion and was asked his opinion. One of them was he saw almost no point in going through the rigorous process of passing an ordinance on THC regulations when the state is already “halfway” into the process of creating its own regulations, and so might override the city’s ordinance in as little as six months.

I think that’s a big mistake.

When Janesville council member Melissa Kopachek debated with him, he said that he actually agreed the sale of marijuana should be legalized, but doing so  had to follow state laws and procedures. I guess it’s a good thing, then, that the state legislature was so clear on this matter (which half the people didn’t know was in last year’s omnibus bill) that they’re bickering at the Capitol about what should be in the bill right now.

I know he mostly meant that the proposed ordinance was based on how the state and city handles approving liquor licenses. But I feel that while some people boast their support for the legalization of marijuana (specifically THC in this case), they don’t wholeheartedly agree that it should be legal.

I think the crux of this issue is whether THC is worse than alcohol.  I honestly don’t think so, but there are people who do. There is a stereotype that people who use marijuana often don’t contribute much to society: Dimebag Dave, if you will.

I feel that same kind of logic is why Mayor Wilkening is starting to meet such  resistance from the people of Waldorf as he works to increase the town’s population. Waldorf has always been a small town with no more than 300 people. I think that, although they want their community to continue to exist, they don’t want the city to become a St. Clair: small, yet busy with people coming from all over the place.

When discussing changing anything, you will always meet resistance. Moran was unsure the Janesville council should do much about the THC ordinance because things will change for them regardless of what they decide. Waldorf was unsure about new apartments because they want to keep the quaint atmosphere the town has always had.

As my grandma once said about my grandpa, you can tell a German, but you can’t tell him much. People are going to think what they want to think. But is it bad to at least explore the options you have at your disposal? That’s all I ask of the Janesville Council and the people of Waldorf.