Terrabis asks council for extension of marijuana drive-thru hours

The owners of the Terrabis cannabis dispensary are seeking permission from Springfield City Council to operate its drive-thru facility until 1:30 a.m., rather than closing at 10 p.m. as required by city code.

The first reading and public hearing for a measure to extend drive-thru hours for cannabis dispensaries were held at the July 13 council meeting, with a voted slated for July 27.

Current city regulations do not allow operations of marijuana facilities between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 p.m. No person not employed by the business is permitted to be on the premises at that time, and no sales or distribution of marijuana is permitted during the hours of closure.

The Terrabis ownership company, V3 MO Vending 5 LLC, is seeking the longer hours on behalf of all dispensaries instead of just its own, which operates at 850 E. Kearney St. The legislation states there are nine dispensaries in the city limits, and six of these have drive-thrus.

Speaking before council was Nick Liaromatis, co-founder and chief legal officer for Terrabis, which also has locations in Creve Coeur, O’Fallon and Hazelwood. O’Fallon recently changed its law to allow drive-thru dispensaries to operate 24 hours.

Justin Crighton, the city’s assistant director of planning and development, introduced the council bill and noted that the proposed change would align regulations for marijuana dispensaries with those for liquor sales.

Councilmember Craig Hosmer pointed out that St. Louis and Kansas City have not expanded their hours.

“Has the city received complaints from people that can’t buy their marijuana between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.?” he asked.

“Not to my knowledge, no,” Crighton said.

“So, the 16 hours that people can buy marijuana in the city of Springfield – at least we’re not aware of any complaints of people who say, ‘I can’t buy enough marijuana’?” Hosmer asked. “There’s no outcry from people that need marijuana at different times in the morning? We’re doing this for this one applicant, private applicant?”

Crighton said the city has removed a provision allowing an applicant to propose an amendment to the zoning code, so this is the last such measure to be considered by that mechanism.

Hosmer asked why the proposal is for a change that would apply to all dispensaries instead of just the applicant, and Crighton said that’s what the applicant applied for. Hosmer also clarified that there is no law preventing walk-up service at a drive-thru window.

Liaromatis told council he originally requested 24-hour drive-thru operations, a model that he characterized as successful, compliant and safe in O’Fallon.

“We do approximately 4,000 transactions a week between 10 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. at that location,” he said. “We pulled ourselves off the agenda because we want to be responsible stewards of the community.”

He said collaborative feedback indicated that 24 hours may be too much for this community, which is why the measure was revised to be modeled after that for liquor sales.

Liaromatis said last call is at 1:30 a.m., and he said there are no walk-up sales at Terrabis facilities.

“We do not serve anybody unless they are in a vehicle,” he said. “Public safety should always be first and foremost at the front of everyone’s minds, and the safest way to distribute any sort of product is through the drive-thru model. It’s a controlled pass-thru teller window, similar to like a bank transaction, in which the employee is behind bulletproof glass.”

He said at no time do an employee and client touch each other.

He added that he has a letter of support from the mayor of O’Fallon and that the chief of police there is happy to speak with anyone in Springfield.

He encouraged regulatory consistency with the alcohol industry.

“It will reduce illicit market activity,” he said. “At the end of the day, if people want to buy and consume the products, they’re going to do that. If they’re doing that from a compliant facility in which the product is tested and known to be safe and in a childproof container, I think that’s a good thing, instead of going to a black-market option for somebody seeking it past that hour.”