Pubdate: Wed, 09 Jun 2010
Source: Herald, The (Everett, WA)
Copyright: 2010 The Daily Herald Co.
Contact:  http://www.heraldnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/190
Author: Bill Sheets

MARYSVILLE POT DISPENSARY PINS HOPES ON APPEAL

MARYSVILLE -- Those who run a medical  marijuana dispensary here have
one more chance to  convince city officials to let them operate in
Marysville.

Elevated Medical Treatment, which began operating out  of a house on
Smokey Point Boulevard in March and later  voluntarily shut down, was
denied a business license by  the city in May. The group has filed an
appeal with the  city's hearing examiner.

A public hearing on the matter is scheduled for 9 a.m.  today at City
Hall, 1049 State Ave. The hearing  examiner is expected to make a
decision at the meeting,  city administrator Gloria Hirashima said.

If the hearing examiner rules against the appeal, the  group would
have to take its case to Snohomish County  Superior Court to try to
reverse the decision.

Medicinal pot dispensaries are illegal in Washington  state. Marijuana
was made legal for medical use in the  state by initiative in 1998,
but it must be grown by  the user or a designated provider. That
provider must  be an individual, not a group, and may provide only to
one person.

It was on those grounds that the city denied the  group's business
license application, Hirashima said.

"It was a pretty straightforward decision," she said.

Those who run Elevated Medical Treatment did not return  phone calls
seeking comment on Tuesday.

The group is registered with the state as a nonprofit  organization.
On its business license application in  March, it listed its intended
service as "holistic,  herbal, alternative, organic remedies." The
application  did not mention marijuana.

The organization's website, www.elevatedmedical  treatment.com,
describes the group as a "legal provider  of medical cannabis in North
Snohomish, Skagit, Island,  and Whatcom counties," and lists suggested
donations of  up to $350 per ounce.

In a letter explaining the city's denial of the  business application,
Hirashima said city officials  visited the operation in late April and
saw marijuana  being distributed.

Michael Reid, a Seattle attorney representing the  group, in April
readily referred to the Marysville  operation as a dispensary, but
described it as "de  facto" legal.

"If everybody treats it as legal, it is indeed legal,"  he said at the
time.

Following publicity about the operation in April, the  group agreed to
shut down operations until legal issues  with the city are decided. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D