Des Peres, Olivette residents to vote on banning marijuana dispensaries

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Voters in two St. Louis County municipalities will have the option to say no to pot shops in their cities come November.

Des Peres and Olivette both have measures on the ballot that would ban marijuana dispensaries.

"My goal is to not be anti-drug, my goal is not to have dispensaries near homes and near schools," said Raphael Thomadzem.

Thomadzem helped organize a petition drive in Olivette to ban marijuana dispensaries in town. This came after a cannabis dispensary was proposed off Olive Blvd. and a cannabis cultivation facility was also proposed in the city.

Both failed, but taught Thomadzem a lesson, as he does not want pot shops near his home or schools.

"While I would normally say is let's just have common sense zoning, the only way to do it is to have a total ban," said Thomadzem.

The Missouri Constitution allows municipalities to ban dispensaries, but they can only be voted on in presidential election years and must get 60% of the vote to pass. In the St. Louis region, only Olivette and Des Peres residents have the measure on the ballot.

While Olivette currently has zero dispensaries, the measure would shut down the Root 66 dispensary in Des Peres.

"I am not in favor of usage, and I'm concerned about its prevalence among young children, young adults, and chronic use," said Siresha Samudrala.

Des Peres resident Samudrala said she likes that Root 66 brought a bit of life to where it sits on Manchester Road, but as a doctor and a mom, she can't reconcile it.

"I do think there are consequences that come up that are costs to the community and healthcare system," said Samudrala.

Others in town disagree.

"I live right by here, and the closest one was like 10 minutes away besides this, so yeah, that would be inconvenient," said Luke Bagwell.

We caught Bagwell exiting Root 66 on Thursday, and he said while he could drive to Manchester or elsewhere to get cannabis, it's much more convenient for him to buy where he lives. And there's also money involved.

"Why allow another municipality other than Des Peres to benefit from the revenue?" said Sheri McCann.

McCann said Des Peres does not receive as much revenue as it used to from the West County Mall, and marijuana revenue can help fill the gaps.

In 2023, Des Peres estimated more than $153,000 in annual tax revenue from one store.

McCann adds she uses the drug for her arthritis, and pot does not carry the stigma that it used to.

"I've never seen anybody outside of the building smoking pot. I've never seen anybody just give their cannabis to children," said McCann.

If passed, marijuana usage would not be banned in Des Peres and Olivette, just the shops that sell it.