Pubdate: Tue, 30 Oct 2007
Source: Times-News, The (ID)
Copyright: 2007 Magic Valley Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.magicvalley.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/595
Author: Jared S. Hopkins,Times-News writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/industrial+hemp
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/states/ID/ (Idaho)

HAILEY TO VOTE ON MARIJUANA

Even If Measure Passes, Possibility of Lawsuits Lingers

When Hailey voters go to the polls next week they'll have an 
opportunity to light up a whole new Rocky Mountain high.

Thanks to an activist who doesn't live there, voters will be asked to 
cast ballots on four separate but related measures that aim to 
legalize marijuana use in the Blaine County ski town. If they approve 
any or all, city and state officials will be handed a difficult and 
potentially expensive legal problem of how to interpret the will of 
the people when the people want to do something that is clearly 
illegal everywhere else.

The initiatives, if approved by voters, would give the city the 
following directions:

. Allow sale of cannabis in limited use for adults. Sales would be 
taxed and regulated - like those of tobacco and alcohol - with the 
city keeping the revenue.

. Exempt patients with doctor recommendations for medicinal marijuana 
from any law enforcement punishment.

. Establish a policy favorable to the growing of industrial hemp.

. Make personal use of marijuana the city's "lowest law enforcement priority."

Each measure would also create a community panel to help the city 
push for decriminalization at the state level.

The initiatives were brought by Ryan Davidson, a 30-year-old native 
of Canada who now lives in Garden City and works as a "patient-safety 
attendant" at Saint Alphonsus hospital in Boise. Davidson said he's 
driven by libertarian principles - not a desire to encourage 
recreational drug use - and that he chose four measures instead of 
one because voters value different things.

"The overall goal is to send a message to legislators that this is 
what city of Hailey residents want," he said. Asked if the measures 
are essentially legalizing marijuana, Davidson said "right, right."

Davidson lived in Hailey for a few months in 2004. He said he chose 
Hailey for his ballot measures because the resort town - more liberal 
than most in Idaho - was one of the "easiest places" to get on the ballot.

Under Idaho law, citizens can get questions on a ballot by collecting 
petition signatures equal to 20 percent of the turnout in the most 
recent election in that jurisdiction. Hailey's 2005 election had only 
candidates who were unopposed, leading to an election in which only 
85 people voted in a town with a population of nearly 7,000.

That means Davidson needed just 17 signatures on his petition.

Dean Rutherford, a Hailey chiropractor and supporter of Davidson, 
said Wood River Valley residents are "contemporary thinkers" who 
understand laws against marijuana are a waste of taxpayers' money. 
Neither he nor Davidson said they use marijuana themselves.

"It's not that there are more marijuana smokers up here that want to 
smoke pot legally without interferences. That's the least of the 
reasons for these initiatives," said Rutherford, who lives outside 
the city in Blaine County and thus cannot vote in the election. "It's 
more political. It's more health reasons. It's more societal."

Still, it's unclear how much support Davidson's ballot measure 
enjoys. Davidson said he hasn't received money for the cause and that 
his group, the Liberty Lobby of Idaho, is "four or five people."

Three years ago, Davidson submitted pro-marijuana measures on the 
ballot in Sun Valley, Ketchum and Hailey, but the cities rejected 
them. Last year, the Idaho Supreme Court found that cities must 
consider a petition even if the initiatives could be illegal because 
the courts and voters hold the power to check initiatives.

But should any of the initiatives pass, Hailey could be thrust into a 
world of legal troubles, primarily because cities cannot overrule 
state code or federal law - both of which make the provisions of the 
ballot measures illegal.

City officials cite four potential problem scenarios: the City 
Council could rescind the ordinance; the city could challenge it in 
court; a private citizen could challenge it; or the office of Idaho 
Attorney General Lawrence Wasden could become involved.

"Municipalities do not have the authority to repeal state or federal 
criminal laws," said Kriss Cloyd, a spokeswoman for the attorney 
general. "Under state and federal laws, possession of marijuana is a crime."

Hailey City Attorney Ned Williamson said the initiatives bear a "lack 
of clarity." Hailey Police Chief Jeff Gunter said that if the measure 
passed he plans to confer with city officials and Williamson before 
deciding what to do.

"I doubt we'd do anything that's contrary to state law," he said. 
"This is probably an issue that's going to be litigated quite a bit 
before we get to that point."

Davidson said he knows there's potential for a legal battle, 
including one he might initiate if the city redacts ordinances that 
stem from his measures. He said that it is possible law enforcement 
agencies or the attorney general might take action "but what the 
state's going to do, exactly, I don't know." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake