In Green Bay, Wisconsin, there are rules that prevent convicted sex offenders from being able to live too close to schools, playgrounds, and parks, for obvious reasons. You can find similar legislation all over the country. As per the rules, the state believes that communities are going to be safer when those convicted predators are required to live at least 1,500 feet away from those areas.

Who knew that so many might ask for and receive an exemption to such a rule.

About 65 percent of the registered sex offenders who have asked for the exemption have been approved.

And for those who get denied that might not stop them, as an investigation recently allegedly showed that for at least two individuals who requested such an exemption and were denied, that they were allegedly found to be living at the denied address.

Law enforcement reportedly followed up on that and didn't find anyone living at the addresses however, and one of the individual has since updated his current living status to homeless.

What is the exemption rate for cannabis dispensaries?

As we know, along with cannabis legalization across the United States and elsewhere, there have been a variety of popular dispensaries that have been closed because of regulations that stipulate they must not operate within a certain distance of schools or community centers etc. Are cannabis dispensaries more of a threat to communities than convicted sex offenders?

Many of those cannabis dispensaries have protested crackdowns and sought to be compliant with the rules, I wonder how many of them might have been approved of an exemption to the rules of staying away from community centers and schools. At the rate we have witnessed the state crackdown on those establishments, regardless of the community support shown for them or the fact that there is a history of them operating in peace for decades, it might be fair to suspect that the rate of approval would be far less than that seen for sex offenders.

Cannabis dispensaries pose much less of a threat and a great deal more value to their areas. Those dispensaries are distributing medicinal products to their communities, their work is helping to improve the standard of living for their customers, which in-turn promotes a healthier community overall. Can the same be said for taking the risk of allowing sex offenders to reside so close to potential victims? If the state is going to give exemptions to sex offenders, then why not cannabis dispensaries as well, as there is arguably far more justification to do so.

For now, cannabis is still illegal in Wisconsin, though lawmakers have introduced various plans to seek decriminalization for possession or legalization in general.

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