CRANBERRY TWP — Township officials are proposing an update to township zoning ordinances that would allow medical marijuana to be grown or sold in the township.

The township supervisors Thursday night voted to a advertise a zoning ordinance amendment that would revise the definition of agricultural uses to include growing medical marijuana.

Ron Henshaw, township director of planning and development, said township officials this year have fielded a couple inquiries from business people interested in opening a medical marijuana dispensary or growing medical marijuana in the township.

Officials also wanted to make sure that its ordinances were up to date and compliant with state law.

Henshaw said that a potential dispensary, a business that would sell marijuana, would be allowed in any of the zoning districts where a pharmacy would be allowed under the current code.

Marijuana would also be added to the agricultural definitions.

“We allow agricultural operations in almost every district and we’ve always said we don’t regulate what people are growing,” Henshaw said, adding that the new industry will be heavily regulated by the state.

Gov. Tom Wolf in April of this year signed into law 2016 Act 16, which established a medical marijuana program for the state.

The state Department of Health, the agency in charge of issuing licenses for growers and processors and dispensaries, is expecting implementation of the law to take 18 to 24 months, according to its website.

The law allows for 150 dispensary locations and no more than 25 growers.

Township solicitor Russ Lucas said Thursday that the change should protect the township against any exclusionary zoning appeals.

Act 16 also requires the dispensaries to be stand-alone buildings and prohibits them from being built within 1,000 feet of any school or day care center. However, a similar restriction on location for methadone clinics was struck down by a state court that found it to be unconstitutional, Lucas said.

Patients who are suffering from a number of serious medical conditions could be prescribed marijuana under the law. These include cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and Parkinson’s disease. The marijuana would not be smoked, but administered via a pill, oil, topical cream, vaporizer or liquid.

In an unrelated measure, the proposed zoning amendment also would revise the definition for veterinary practices. Under the change, a veterinary office that does not house animals overnight would be treated like any other business and would be allowed in more zoning districts, Henshaw said.

The supervisors will hold a public hearing and consider adoption of the ordinance later this year.