Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Although city officials have defended its necessity, others smell trouble in Pendleton's marijuana odor ordinance.
Pendleton attorney Will Perkinson hasn't been involved with any cases relating to the year-old city law, but he has defended clients who have been accused of violating marijuana laws and is a member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws' legal committee.
Perkinson said his main issue with the ordinance is that it's too vague - the one-page ordinance doesn't differentiate between medical and recreational marijuana or properly establish the level of odor a marijuana smell would need to reach to be considered harmful.
Perkinson said it was unlike other nuisances like excessive noise, which has years of case law and measurable metrics that provide guidance for the creation and enforcement local ordinances.
The Pendleton City Council enacted the marijuana odor ordinance in June, one month before the drug became legal to grow and use in the state. The ordinance prohibited "unreasonable" amounts of marijuana odors from leaving a property and entering another.
Because the odor of marijuana is subjective and officers aren't present to observe the offense, the people who complain about the smell can sign a citation that invokes the ordinance.
Since the odor law went into effect, there have been two cases where it has been enforced, the most recent involving downtown business Elite Guns & Bows and Citadel Studios, a yet-to-be-opened music studio and concert venue. The downtown Pendleton businesses on Southeast Second Street share a wall.
In a written statement, Citadel owner Jake Sierra said problems between him and the owners of Elite Guns & Bows - Fred and Jeff Bradbury, father and son - started soon after he moved into his storefront.
According to Sierra, the Bradburys' complaints that marijuana was emanating from Citadel's space into their own store escalated into racial epithets, unwanted surveillance and threats of violence from Jeff Bradbury and his customers. Both Jeff and Fred Bradbury declined to comment for this story.
In an email, Police Chief Stuart Roberts wrote that Jeff Bradbury signed a marijuana odor citation on April 14 and made related complaints twice more on April 29 and May 17.
Sierra reported to police on May 18 that Jeff Bradbury made a gesture as if to shoot at him, but no firearm was observed.
Both sides went to Pendleton Municipal Court Aug. 3, where Judge Jeff Wallace found Sierra guilty, but suspended a $500 fine if the nuisance was abated.
Wallace requested police Cpl. Jon Lehman to conduct a walkthrough of Elite Guns & Bows and Citadel to see if the odor had been abated, and when Lehman reported that he could detect no odor during his visit, the judge dropped the fine at an Oct. 4 hearing. Sierra said the Bradburys weren't present for the hearing.
In an interview, Sierra said he nor anyone in the studio has ever smoked, stored or grown marijuana there and suspected the smell might come from the area behind Elite Guns & Bows, where patrons from nearby bars sometimes congregate to smoke.
Sierra said the ordinance is flawed because he was threatened with a hefty fine despite being misidentified as the source of the smell.
Even though there was legal resolution to the dispute, Sierra is still wary that conflict could re-arise and wishes Jeff and Fred Bradbury, who is also the president of the Pendleton Downtown Association, had been more inclusive.
"This man is the president of the Downtown Association, and has never once attempted to welcome us, encourage us to join the downtown core, or even been remotely friendly to us, as any good neighbor would do," Sierra said in the written statement. "He has blatantly bad mouthed us to various people around town, people who have in turn come and asked us what it is we did to make this man dislike us so heavily, a question that no one has the answer to."
While the Pendleton City Council hasn't officially discussed the marijuana odor ordinance since its passage, the planning commission will consider zoning regulations for marijuana retailers at a meeting Thursday in case voters pass ballot measures legalizing marijuana sales on Election Day.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Critics Raise A Stink Over Marijuana Odor Ordinance
Author: Antonio Sierra
Contact: 1-800-522-0255
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: East Orgonian
Pendleton attorney Will Perkinson hasn't been involved with any cases relating to the year-old city law, but he has defended clients who have been accused of violating marijuana laws and is a member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws' legal committee.
Perkinson said his main issue with the ordinance is that it's too vague - the one-page ordinance doesn't differentiate between medical and recreational marijuana or properly establish the level of odor a marijuana smell would need to reach to be considered harmful.
Perkinson said it was unlike other nuisances like excessive noise, which has years of case law and measurable metrics that provide guidance for the creation and enforcement local ordinances.
The Pendleton City Council enacted the marijuana odor ordinance in June, one month before the drug became legal to grow and use in the state. The ordinance prohibited "unreasonable" amounts of marijuana odors from leaving a property and entering another.
Because the odor of marijuana is subjective and officers aren't present to observe the offense, the people who complain about the smell can sign a citation that invokes the ordinance.
Since the odor law went into effect, there have been two cases where it has been enforced, the most recent involving downtown business Elite Guns & Bows and Citadel Studios, a yet-to-be-opened music studio and concert venue. The downtown Pendleton businesses on Southeast Second Street share a wall.
In a written statement, Citadel owner Jake Sierra said problems between him and the owners of Elite Guns & Bows - Fred and Jeff Bradbury, father and son - started soon after he moved into his storefront.
According to Sierra, the Bradburys' complaints that marijuana was emanating from Citadel's space into their own store escalated into racial epithets, unwanted surveillance and threats of violence from Jeff Bradbury and his customers. Both Jeff and Fred Bradbury declined to comment for this story.
In an email, Police Chief Stuart Roberts wrote that Jeff Bradbury signed a marijuana odor citation on April 14 and made related complaints twice more on April 29 and May 17.
Sierra reported to police on May 18 that Jeff Bradbury made a gesture as if to shoot at him, but no firearm was observed.
Both sides went to Pendleton Municipal Court Aug. 3, where Judge Jeff Wallace found Sierra guilty, but suspended a $500 fine if the nuisance was abated.
Wallace requested police Cpl. Jon Lehman to conduct a walkthrough of Elite Guns & Bows and Citadel to see if the odor had been abated, and when Lehman reported that he could detect no odor during his visit, the judge dropped the fine at an Oct. 4 hearing. Sierra said the Bradburys weren't present for the hearing.
In an interview, Sierra said he nor anyone in the studio has ever smoked, stored or grown marijuana there and suspected the smell might come from the area behind Elite Guns & Bows, where patrons from nearby bars sometimes congregate to smoke.
Sierra said the ordinance is flawed because he was threatened with a hefty fine despite being misidentified as the source of the smell.
Even though there was legal resolution to the dispute, Sierra is still wary that conflict could re-arise and wishes Jeff and Fred Bradbury, who is also the president of the Pendleton Downtown Association, had been more inclusive.
"This man is the president of the Downtown Association, and has never once attempted to welcome us, encourage us to join the downtown core, or even been remotely friendly to us, as any good neighbor would do," Sierra said in the written statement. "He has blatantly bad mouthed us to various people around town, people who have in turn come and asked us what it is we did to make this man dislike us so heavily, a question that no one has the answer to."
While the Pendleton City Council hasn't officially discussed the marijuana odor ordinance since its passage, the planning commission will consider zoning regulations for marijuana retailers at a meeting Thursday in case voters pass ballot measures legalizing marijuana sales on Election Day.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Critics Raise A Stink Over Marijuana Odor Ordinance
Author: Antonio Sierra
Contact: 1-800-522-0255
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: East Orgonian
