Jacob Bell
New Member
Medical marijuana users are going to have to wait at least six months to find a dispensary in Edmonds.
The city council decided Tuesday, by a 6-1 vote, to adopt a zoning moratorium on the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries, and declared them to be an illegal use under state law and the city's zoning code.
The six-month moratorium will give city officials and staff time to do a more thorough job of defining how to go about dealing with the dispensary problem.
"The City needs to establish zoning ordinances," city attorney Scott Snyder said.
The discussion came about because of an application for a business license for a dispensary in Edmonds.
But here's the rub — despite the recent proliferation of dispensaries, it's illegal to run them.
And despite the moratorium, the business license would still have been denied.
"Passing this (moratorium) or not, it's still illegal, and the dispensary would have been denied," council member DJ Wilson said.
"And nothing in the moratorium would prevent a qualified user from using marijuana," Snyder said.
Staff concluded that, ultimately, this is an issue for the state Legislature. At least one bill regarding dispensaries will be considered this session.
Staff's recommendations are based on the current state of Washington law.
The purpose of a zoning moratorium is to allow the city to carefully consider the issue, and to tailor a response that is compliant with the city's comprehensive plan, public opinion, and the developing state of the law and public policy.
"Until the Legislature provides some guidelines, there will not be any consistency," Edmonds Police Chief Al Compaan said.
"This is an untenable situation. The moratorium provides for time for discussion down in Olympia."
Council President Strom Peterson agreed.
"Right now, the state Legislature hasn't done it right," he said. "If the Legislature gets something done, we can revisit this."
So, in a way, the discussion Tuesday night seemed ridiculous.
Either way the council voted, a business license would have been denied. But on the other hand, it wasn't crazy at all.
The council sent a message to state legislators — this is your problem, deal with it.
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: edmondsbeacon.com
Author: Pat Ratliff
Contact: Contact Us :: Edmonds Beacon News
Copyright: Copyright © 2010 by Beacon Publishing, Inc
Website: News :: Edmonds Beacon News
The city council decided Tuesday, by a 6-1 vote, to adopt a zoning moratorium on the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries, and declared them to be an illegal use under state law and the city's zoning code.
The six-month moratorium will give city officials and staff time to do a more thorough job of defining how to go about dealing with the dispensary problem.
"The City needs to establish zoning ordinances," city attorney Scott Snyder said.
The discussion came about because of an application for a business license for a dispensary in Edmonds.
But here's the rub — despite the recent proliferation of dispensaries, it's illegal to run them.
And despite the moratorium, the business license would still have been denied.
"Passing this (moratorium) or not, it's still illegal, and the dispensary would have been denied," council member DJ Wilson said.
"And nothing in the moratorium would prevent a qualified user from using marijuana," Snyder said.
Staff concluded that, ultimately, this is an issue for the state Legislature. At least one bill regarding dispensaries will be considered this session.
Staff's recommendations are based on the current state of Washington law.
The purpose of a zoning moratorium is to allow the city to carefully consider the issue, and to tailor a response that is compliant with the city's comprehensive plan, public opinion, and the developing state of the law and public policy.
"Until the Legislature provides some guidelines, there will not be any consistency," Edmonds Police Chief Al Compaan said.
"This is an untenable situation. The moratorium provides for time for discussion down in Olympia."
Council President Strom Peterson agreed.
"Right now, the state Legislature hasn't done it right," he said. "If the Legislature gets something done, we can revisit this."
So, in a way, the discussion Tuesday night seemed ridiculous.
Either way the council voted, a business license would have been denied. But on the other hand, it wasn't crazy at all.
The council sent a message to state legislators — this is your problem, deal with it.
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: edmondsbeacon.com
Author: Pat Ratliff
Contact: Contact Us :: Edmonds Beacon News
Copyright: Copyright © 2010 by Beacon Publishing, Inc
Website: News :: Edmonds Beacon News
