After months of debate, the Belgrade City Council will determine whether or not to ban medical marijuana businesses from the city limits during a public hearing tonight.
During a June 7 meeting, the council voted 4-2 to impose a ban on all new commercial medical marijuana operations in Belgrade and the one-mile jurisdiction around the city, according to city records.
In the beginning, city staffers were tasked in March to draft a zoning ordinance that would map out where commercial pot growers could set up shop. To give staffers time to do that, the council enacted a 6-month moratorium. The staff borrowed heavily from the city's casino ordinance to draft one controlling commercial medical marijuana facilities.
The Belgrade City-County Planning Board voted in May 4-2 to scrap the draft in favor of a blanket ruling that barred any and all activities from the city that are in violation of federal, state or local law, according to city records. The draft ordinance now under consideration would amend the zoning ordinance regarding permitted uses "for the purpose of promoting health, safety, morals and general welfare of its citizens."
Board members said allowing commercial medical marijuana in the city limits could jeopardize federal funding for various city projects, according to city records. The drug is legal for medicinal purposes in the state, but the federal government does not honor the distinction. In September 2009, though, the Obama Administration announced the feds would not crack down in states with medical marijuana laws on the books.
Even so, presidential administrations come and go and the council stuck with the planning board's recommendation, according to city officials.
About a dozen people, including four commercial marijuana growers, called "caregivers" under the law, came out to testify against the ban last month. During the current economic downturn, growers said their operations boost local employment, commercial rental income, local businesses and the construction industry, along with adding to the city and state tax base.
If passed, the ban would "grandfather" four businesses that either operate or conduct deliveries in the city, according to city officials.
Those businesses had obtained city business licenses before the March moratorium took effect. They would be grandfathered because to do otherwise would amount to "a taking," City Attorney Rick Ramler told the council last month.
The ban also would not affect medicinal users' ability to grow up to six plants in their homes, as provided by the state law that took effect after a 2004 vote.
Montana voters approved medical marijuana through a citizen initiative in the November 2004 election. Other Montana cities have been grappling with the issue of how to regulate the businesses, and at least four other municipalities have banned medical marijuana businesses as Belgrade is considering doing. A lawsuit was filed against the city of Great Falls last month over the ban.
The public hearing gets underway tonight at 7 p.m., at City Hall, 91 E. Central Ave.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Belgrade News
Author: Michael Tucker
Contact: The Belgrade News
Copyright: 2010 The Belgrade News
Website: Marijuana ban on tap in Belgrade tonight
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
During a June 7 meeting, the council voted 4-2 to impose a ban on all new commercial medical marijuana operations in Belgrade and the one-mile jurisdiction around the city, according to city records.
In the beginning, city staffers were tasked in March to draft a zoning ordinance that would map out where commercial pot growers could set up shop. To give staffers time to do that, the council enacted a 6-month moratorium. The staff borrowed heavily from the city's casino ordinance to draft one controlling commercial medical marijuana facilities.
The Belgrade City-County Planning Board voted in May 4-2 to scrap the draft in favor of a blanket ruling that barred any and all activities from the city that are in violation of federal, state or local law, according to city records. The draft ordinance now under consideration would amend the zoning ordinance regarding permitted uses "for the purpose of promoting health, safety, morals and general welfare of its citizens."
Board members said allowing commercial medical marijuana in the city limits could jeopardize federal funding for various city projects, according to city records. The drug is legal for medicinal purposes in the state, but the federal government does not honor the distinction. In September 2009, though, the Obama Administration announced the feds would not crack down in states with medical marijuana laws on the books.
Even so, presidential administrations come and go and the council stuck with the planning board's recommendation, according to city officials.
About a dozen people, including four commercial marijuana growers, called "caregivers" under the law, came out to testify against the ban last month. During the current economic downturn, growers said their operations boost local employment, commercial rental income, local businesses and the construction industry, along with adding to the city and state tax base.
If passed, the ban would "grandfather" four businesses that either operate or conduct deliveries in the city, according to city officials.
Those businesses had obtained city business licenses before the March moratorium took effect. They would be grandfathered because to do otherwise would amount to "a taking," City Attorney Rick Ramler told the council last month.
The ban also would not affect medicinal users' ability to grow up to six plants in their homes, as provided by the state law that took effect after a 2004 vote.
Montana voters approved medical marijuana through a citizen initiative in the November 2004 election. Other Montana cities have been grappling with the issue of how to regulate the businesses, and at least four other municipalities have banned medical marijuana businesses as Belgrade is considering doing. A lawsuit was filed against the city of Great Falls last month over the ban.
The public hearing gets underway tonight at 7 p.m., at City Hall, 91 E. Central Ave.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Belgrade News
Author: Michael Tucker
Contact: The Belgrade News
Copyright: 2010 The Belgrade News
Website: Marijuana ban on tap in Belgrade tonight
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
