Businesses wanting to grow or distribute state-sanctioned medical marijuana in the city of Duluth will have to wait.

The Duluth City Council passed a six-month moratorium on the opening of any such facility. City officials plan to use the delay to consider whether local zoning controls should be put in place to restrict where such operations can do business.

The moratorium could be longer-lived if city officials fail to reach agreement, and it could be extended to last up to a year or even 18 months.

Duluth’s director of planning and construction Keith Hamre expressed confidence city staff could fully study the issue and offer recommendations within six months. He noted that one city planner on his staff worked on medical cannabis licensing in Colorado and could draw on best practices learned there.

But not all councilors supported the moratorium.

Joel Sipress suggested the city’s existing zoning codes could be used to govern the proper placement of medical marijuana facilities. He voiced fears that the city could miss out on economic development opportunities by putting impediments in place.

“I would not want us to hamstring ourselves,” Sipress said.

Hamre said some of the marijuana-processing plants emit strong odors, and thought should be given to where they should be allowed. He said the council may also want to consider how close it wants marijuana operations located in proximity to churches or schools.

Councilor Linda Krug pointed to Duluth’s recent struggle to control sales of synthetic drugs and said: “I don’t think we can shut our eyes to that.”

Krug said the city would do nothing wrong to spend six months studying how best to place medical marijuana operations.

Councilor Sharla Gardner said that unlike synthetic drugs, medical marijuana offers medically recognized benefits for people suffering from the effects of devastating diseases such as cancer.

“I want to make sure we’re not making a mistake here and being hypersensitive,” she said.

Duluth’s Chief Administrative Officer David Montgomery offered assurances that the city was not coming out against medical marijuana.

“In no way is this intended to be a ban on medical marijuana, nor do we wish to ascribe a value judgment on a legally prescribed product,” he said, explaining that he views the moratorium as an opportunity to develop a thoughtful approach to how the industry should be developed in the future.

Voting in favor of the moratorium were Councilors Krug, Zack Filipovich, Emily Larson, Jennifer Julsrud and Barb Russ.

Voting against it were Councilors Gardner, Sipress and Jay Fosle.