Jacob Bell
New Member
The mayor of Longview on Thursday called for a citywide ban on collective medical marijuana gardens, saying he was willing to take the lead in forcing the state and federal governments to sort out the legal status of marijuana.
Mayor Kurt Anagnostou brushed off the city attorney's repeated and emphatic warnings that she and the city's other legal advisers did not recommend a flat-out ban of the gardens because they're legal in Washington. A ban would put the city at risk of a lawsuit, City Attorney Marilyn Nitteberg-Haan said.
"A judge is going to say we can't follow federal law?" Anagnostou countered at Thursday's public hearing regarding the city's six-month moratorium on the gardens. "Who are we going to be sued by? The medical marijuana growers of America – when we have a federal law saying we can ban these?"
The council's public hearing was required because the council had no time for public testimony before it imposed the temporary ban on July 19. Three days later, the Legislature legalized collective marijuana gardens.
Medical marijuana has been legal in Washington since 1999, after 59 percent of voters approved Initiative 692. Those state laws conflict with federal law, under which marijuana remains as illegal as heroin or cocaine and is said to have no medical value.
Anagnostou and councilmen Dennis Weber, Chet Makinster and Don Jensen argued that when they took their oath of office, they swore to uphold the U.S. Constitution, which establishes that federal law is the "supreme law of the land."
"Who takes precedence here?" Jensen asked before the audience of about 30 people. "Is it federal law we should be following, or state law? One of these has to be trumped and I don't know which one."
"When we stood up here and said we're going to obey the laws of the land, are we going against that?" Makinster asked. "Everybody's afraid to death of Olympia. Maybe it's time somebody stood up and said we're tired of this."
Weber said if the city adopted zoning for the gardens, city planning staff tasked with deciding if the gardens were a permitted use could face arrest and prosecution by federal authorities.
Nitteberg-Haan disagreed, saying this was different from telling employees to issue business licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries, which is one reason Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed most of the bill that legalized the gardens. All the city would be doing is setting guidelines for where the gardens could exist, thereby protecting citizens, she said. Also, the federal government has said prosecuting medical marijuana is not a priority, and the states are working to change federal law, the attorney said.
If Longview's ban on the gardens were struck down in court, she said, the city wouldn't have any zoning in place to regulate them.
The safest course of action, Nitteberg-Haan said, was to uphold the six-month ban on the gardens the council set July 19 while determining where to allow them. The council also could impose a one-year moratorium on the gardens, which would require city staff and the Planning Commission to follow a 15- step work plan for creating regulations for them.
Weber supported the year-long ban, which would allow time for the Legislature to revisit the issue in January. Then the city could adopt the work plan based on the state's actions, he said. Among other things, the work plan requires extensive research of other jurisdictions' medical marijuana legislation.
"I would just as soon protect our options," Weber said.
Several citizens testified at the hearing about the negative effects of marijuana on communities, youth and recovering addicts. A couple of people advocated for legalizing and regulating marijuana.
Longview resident Jeff Wilson urged the city to impose a temporary ban on the gardens while it develops zoning to keep them away from schools and gathering places. He asked the city to find out if Kelso or Kalama are having problems with medical marijuana gardens cropping up in undesirable places due to their lack of regulations.
However, he said he hopes the city doesn't spend a lot of time on it.
"We have other issues we need to deal with that are very important," Wilson said.
After an hour and a half of discussion and testimony, the council voted 6-1 to ask city staff to return with a resolution for the 12-month moratorium and work plan. Anagnostou voted no.
Monday, the Castle Rock City Council approved interim zoning restrictions for group medical marijuana gardens to two "highway business district" areas near Interstate 5. The emergency rules are in effect until January. The city Planning Commission will draft the city's final ordinances, which will be presented to the Castle Rock City Council for formal adoption in December.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: tdn.com
Author: Amy M.E. Fischer
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: The Daily News Online
Website: Longview mayor finds little support for ban on medical marijuana gardens
Mayor Kurt Anagnostou brushed off the city attorney's repeated and emphatic warnings that she and the city's other legal advisers did not recommend a flat-out ban of the gardens because they're legal in Washington. A ban would put the city at risk of a lawsuit, City Attorney Marilyn Nitteberg-Haan said.
"A judge is going to say we can't follow federal law?" Anagnostou countered at Thursday's public hearing regarding the city's six-month moratorium on the gardens. "Who are we going to be sued by? The medical marijuana growers of America – when we have a federal law saying we can ban these?"
The council's public hearing was required because the council had no time for public testimony before it imposed the temporary ban on July 19. Three days later, the Legislature legalized collective marijuana gardens.
Medical marijuana has been legal in Washington since 1999, after 59 percent of voters approved Initiative 692. Those state laws conflict with federal law, under which marijuana remains as illegal as heroin or cocaine and is said to have no medical value.
Anagnostou and councilmen Dennis Weber, Chet Makinster and Don Jensen argued that when they took their oath of office, they swore to uphold the U.S. Constitution, which establishes that federal law is the "supreme law of the land."
"Who takes precedence here?" Jensen asked before the audience of about 30 people. "Is it federal law we should be following, or state law? One of these has to be trumped and I don't know which one."
"When we stood up here and said we're going to obey the laws of the land, are we going against that?" Makinster asked. "Everybody's afraid to death of Olympia. Maybe it's time somebody stood up and said we're tired of this."
Weber said if the city adopted zoning for the gardens, city planning staff tasked with deciding if the gardens were a permitted use could face arrest and prosecution by federal authorities.
Nitteberg-Haan disagreed, saying this was different from telling employees to issue business licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries, which is one reason Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed most of the bill that legalized the gardens. All the city would be doing is setting guidelines for where the gardens could exist, thereby protecting citizens, she said. Also, the federal government has said prosecuting medical marijuana is not a priority, and the states are working to change federal law, the attorney said.
If Longview's ban on the gardens were struck down in court, she said, the city wouldn't have any zoning in place to regulate them.
The safest course of action, Nitteberg-Haan said, was to uphold the six-month ban on the gardens the council set July 19 while determining where to allow them. The council also could impose a one-year moratorium on the gardens, which would require city staff and the Planning Commission to follow a 15- step work plan for creating regulations for them.
Weber supported the year-long ban, which would allow time for the Legislature to revisit the issue in January. Then the city could adopt the work plan based on the state's actions, he said. Among other things, the work plan requires extensive research of other jurisdictions' medical marijuana legislation.
"I would just as soon protect our options," Weber said.
Several citizens testified at the hearing about the negative effects of marijuana on communities, youth and recovering addicts. A couple of people advocated for legalizing and regulating marijuana.
Longview resident Jeff Wilson urged the city to impose a temporary ban on the gardens while it develops zoning to keep them away from schools and gathering places. He asked the city to find out if Kelso or Kalama are having problems with medical marijuana gardens cropping up in undesirable places due to their lack of regulations.
However, he said he hopes the city doesn't spend a lot of time on it.
"We have other issues we need to deal with that are very important," Wilson said.
After an hour and a half of discussion and testimony, the council voted 6-1 to ask city staff to return with a resolution for the 12-month moratorium and work plan. Anagnostou voted no.
Monday, the Castle Rock City Council approved interim zoning restrictions for group medical marijuana gardens to two "highway business district" areas near Interstate 5. The emergency rules are in effect until January. The city Planning Commission will draft the city's final ordinances, which will be presented to the Castle Rock City Council for formal adoption in December.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: tdn.com
Author: Amy M.E. Fischer
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: The Daily News Online
Website: Longview mayor finds little support for ban on medical marijuana gardens
