Councilman Bill Schmitt presents the possibility of Paragon Development Group opening a marijuana dispensary in the village of Bellaire. T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA

BELLAIRE — Bellaire Councilman Bill Schmitt told city leaders Thursday that a group is interested in opening a marijuana dispensary in the village.

He informed the council that he was approached by Paragon Development Group about the possibility of opening such a business in Bellaire. Schmitt said Paragon Developmental Group of Tipp City, Ohio, is owned by a “Silver Star Purple Heart veteran,” Jason Wilson.

Wilson has been a marijuana cultivator for some time and is interested in expanding his business to Bellaire. Paragon reached out to Schmitt to make sure there was no moratorium against such businesses in the village. The business would need to be approved by Bellaire Village Council before it can move forward.

The Ohio Cannabis Control Commission will be accepting applications on June 7. The plans submitted must be approved by the municipality where the location is proposed in order to have the chance to be approved by the state of Ohio.

He noted that Paragon currently owns and operates a grow site in Tipp City, Ohio.

If approved, this would be the first marijuana dispensary in Belmont County.

Councilwoman Janet Richardson responded to the proposed idea by asking if Paragon was looking to open a medical or recreational dispensary. Schmitt replied that they would be wanting to open both a medical and recreational dispensary.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Dugmore asked if they planned on separating the medical and recreational dispensaries.

“It kind of is, but medical patients always would get first dibs on any of the recreational products,” Schmitt responded. “The way it’s set up now under the Ohio Cannabis Control Commission is they only allot so much product to be used for recreational use to ensure that the people with medical conditions who need it don’t run out of medicine.”

In addition to his role as a councilman, Schmitt is the owner of the Holistic Cloud CBD shop in the village, He also has advocated for medical and recreational marijuana during recent election cycles.

“I could see this being a way to get out of the financial difficulties that we have been dealing with,” Schmitt added.

Two studies conducted before the passage of Issue 2 in Ohio estimated tax revenue raised in the first year to be around $200 million, according to policymattersohio.org.

Currently, the Ohio Cannabis Control Commission is only accepting applications from dispensaries that are already licensed for medical marijuana and medical growing. The idea is to allow already established dispensaries to be able to get the additional licensing needed before opening up applications to new potential businesses.

“For me, myself, I would love for it to be here. We can benefit from the tax revenue,” Schmitt said while addressing council. He said if it isn’t something the village would be interested in doing, he would gladly propose the idea to other Belmont County communities, but he believes that Bellaire would be missing out on millions in tax revenue.

“Recreational will create 10 times the amount of tax revenue than medical, it’s a very big market,” Schmitt said.

Richardson asked Schmitt if he would be able to provide council with information via email because she is not informed on the intricacies of the matter and doesn’t feel comfortable discussing a matter she is uninformed about. Schmitt obliged by saying he would be more than happy to send the council members all the information he can on the matter, He believes that Paragon has its sights set on Belmont County and thinks that Bellaire is the perfect location for the dispensary.