Pubdate: Wed, 17 Oct 2012
Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
Copyright: 2012 The Oregonian
Contact:  http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324
Author: Dean Baker

MEDICAL MARIJUANA GARDENS COULD SPRING UP IN VANCOUVER UNDER PROPOSED ORDINANCE

Medical marijuana gardens supplying as many as 10 people each and 
growing as many as 45 plants each may flourish in Vancouver by next year.

Under a state law that the Legislature passed in 2011, ESSB5073, the 
city has to allow cultivation of cannabis for medical use by 
qualifying patients. The city is allowed to establish regulations on 
growing cannabis and has formulated a 50-page proposed ordinance to 
do so. If the city doesn't act, then medical marijuana collective 
gardens can be located anywhere within the city.

The state has set no required date for council action, and the city 
placed a moratorium on action for 18 months while it waited for 
clarification from the state. No new state action has been taken.

The Vancouver Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the 
proposed regulations at 6 p.m. Oct. 23 in the City Hall council 
chambers, 415 W. Sixth St. The hearing will be followed by a Nov. 19 
Vancouver City Council workshop on the proposed ordinance, a Nov. 26 
first reading of the proposed ordinance and a Dec. 13 city council 
public hearing. Public testimony may be taken at both the planning 
commission and city council public hearings. A city council vote may 
be taken on Dec. 13, or later if the council opts for further study 
or testimony.

If the council approves the ordinance, collective gardens could be 
established starting as soon as garden operators can arrange for cultivation.

Whatever action the city might take could be influenced by whether 
voters approve or reject statewide Initiative 502 in the Nov. 6 
election. That measure would legalize the production, possession, 
delivery and distribution of marijuana, would regulate the sale of 
small amounts of marijuana to adults, and would allow the Washington 
State Liquor Control Board to license marijuana growing and processing.

The state's voters in 1998 decriminalized the medical use of 
marijuana by approving Initiative 692.

Federal law still brands marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it 
is a controlled substance with "a high potential for abuse," has "no 
currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States" and 
"there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other 
substance under medical supervision." The federal law means any 
establishment that grows or sells cannabis may be liable to federal 
prosecution.

After the state law passed, the Vancouver City Council on July 18, 
2011, enacted a 12-month moratorium on collective gardens in the 
city, then extended the moratorium for six more months to allow the 
state Legislature to clarify its legislation.

Now the rubber is hitting the road. In a presentation to the planning 
commission on Oct. 9, Chad Eiken, director of the city's Community 
and Economic Development department, and City Attorney Ted Gathe 
explained that the city is attempting to both follow state law and 
avoid responsibility for its conflict with federal law. The proposed 
ordinance does this by avoiding creation of a marijuana-related 
conditional-use permit or business license or tax, which would imply 
that the city endorses the violation of federal law.

Instead, the proposed ordinance would establish zoning for medical 
marijuana collective gardens. They would be allowed only in light 
industrial districts, subject to siting and performance standards, 
with no more than one garden per lot. Each garden would have to be at 
least 1,000 feet from schools, community centers, public parks, 
licensed daycare facilities and other collective gardens.

Under the proposed ordinance, if a medical marijuana collective 
garden is established in an existing building, no use permit would be 
required; a building permit might be required. A garden would have to 
be entirely within an enclosed and secure structure with an 
engineered foundation. No onsite sales or display of paraphernalia 
would be allowed, nor would signs or symbols advertising the use of 
medical marijuana. Plants cannot be seen from any public space.

The proposed ordinance would require garden operators to avoid 
adverse health and safety effects on nearby properties by limiting 
odors, smoke, glare from security lights and noise from alarms. 
Operators would have to install exterior lighting at all entrances, 
deadbolt locks on all exterior doors and bars on all windows to 
prevent unauthorized entry.

The proposed ordinance also limits a collective garden to a maximum 
of 24 ounces of useable cannabis per patient, up to a total of 72 
ounces of useable cannabis. In addition, no useable cannabis from the 
collective garden could be delivered to anyone other than a 
qualifying patient participating in the garden.

The proposed ordinance would allow patients who qualify for use of 
medical marijuana to belong to only one collective garden at a time. 
It would require a garden's operator to keep a record of all members 
and to keep valid documentation of a patient's proof of identity at the garden.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom