ST. LOUIS — A new south St. Louis marijuana dispensary has yet to open its doors, but it's already drawing heat from the administrators of a nearby school.
At Life for Life Academy in Soulard, the students are getting a special lesson.
"If you walk through our school right now, we are talking about Red Ribbon week,” said Dr. Katrice Nobel, deputy director of Live for Life Academy. “Stay drug free!"
Nobel admits she's no stranger to the benefits dispensaries can offer.
"I lost my son to cancer,” she said. “I had to visit marijuana dispensaries in order to obtain medical marijuana to help ease his pain."
However, she was shocked when she found out a former sandwich shop was being converted into a dispensary across the street from her school.
"It's not right for our kids, and it's not right for our community,” Nobel said. “I totally disagree with it."
Missouri law requires dispensaries to be more than 1,000 feet away from schools, churches, and daycares, but allows local governments to set their own standards.
St. Louis city leaders dropped that requirement for dispensaries in 2020.
"You would not have this in Ladue,” Nobel said. “You would not have this in Rockwood. You would not have this in Clayton."
"I understand the city of St. Louis is a dense geographic area,” said Marshall Cohen, executive director of Lift for Life Academy. “What can we do to make it to where it's not going to be in front of a school, church, or a daycare?"
The way city law is currently structured, there isn’t much that city leaders can do about the issue.
That isn't stopping school leaders from voicing their concerns.
"They want to have a drive-up and walk-through window,” Cohen said. “We can't have that. It's not a fast-food restaurant."
"Let's do something to change this regulation,” Nobel said. “Change this law."
The city is hosting a hearing at 8:30 a.m. Thursday to consider a conditional use permit for the dispensary.
To watch that meeting, click here.