MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s lone holdout in taking action on cannabis dispensary permits approved 20 of 21 proposals on Thursday, The Dominion Post reported.
The Monongalia County Board of Health approved the permits during a special session after coming under pressure to get the permits turned over to the West Virginia Office of Medical Cannabis, which will ultimately select up to 100 dispensary locations statewide.
Monongalia County Health Officer Lee Smith pushed back on the criticism during the remote meeting by saying that public health has been pushed to the breaking point — undercut by continual budget cuts then called to be the front line against COVID-19.
Even so, Smith said, the medical cannabis permits, which the Health Department received in June, were not going to get a rubber stamp as they did in many other counties.
Currently, state law requires dispensaries to be at least 1,000 feet away from a school or daycare facility. The one location that was…