Pubdate: Fri, 01 Nov 2013
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Maria L. La Ganga

WASHINGTON CITIES VS. POT PRODUCERS

State legalization of recreational use and production doesn't stop 
some towns from trying to keep it out.

SEATTLE - When Washington state voters legalized recreational 
marijuana a year ago, Jeff Stewart saw an opportunity: After all, he 
figured, it's the rare industry that's born overnight with proven 
demand and little competition.

But then the 37-year-old tech worker tried to find a warehouse where 
he could grow about 10,000 square feet of pot plants.

What he found was that some cities in the Evergreen State had imposed 
moratoriums to keep out recreational pot while the foundation is 
being laid for the new industry. Others have banned marijuana 
outright, although "dry" regions are prohibited.

The result? A lawsuit in the making, one that could pit local control 
against sweeping social change.

Lesson No. 1 for prospective pot entrepreneurs like Stewart: it is 
not enough to get a license from the Washington State Liquor Control 
Board, in itself an arduous process.

Washington is one of only two states that legalized recreational 
marijuana last year with ballot measures. As the state cobbles 
together its new marketplace, there is a scramble to take advantage 
of a chance to produce, process and sell the previously prohibited 
substance. But some are running into obstacles.

After four months of searching, Stewart and his partners have a line 
on a landlord who may be willing to rent in a city that will allow 
recreational pot production. He will not give the location, because 
he does not want others to poach the prospective property.

He has yet to sign a lease, and time is running out. The one-month 
window for state marijuana business license applications begins Nov. 
18. At least a tentative address is required.

"We talked to 15 cities," Stewart said. "Six had moratoriums" to keep 
recreational pot out of their boundaries for six to eight months - 
long after the first state application period ends. No one knows when 
a possible second application period might occur.

"Woodinville was a flat 'No,' " Stewart said.

Located in the heart of the Seattle-area wine country, Woodinville is 
familiar with mood-altering substances. Its nearly 100 wineries - and 
nearby breweries and distilleries - draw about 300,000 visitors a year.

But all of that liquid relaxation does not mean the smokable sort is 
welcome along the Sammamish River. In February 2012, the City Council 
voted to ban collective gardens and dispensaries for medical 
marijuana, which has been legal statewide since 1998.

City officials say every precinct in the affluent town of about 
11,000 people voted in favor of Initiative 502, which legalized party 
pot in 2012. But in early October, the Woodinville council ordered 
the city attorney to draft an ordinance prohibiting recreational 
marijuana. The measure will be considered at an upcoming meeting.

The council's heated discussion encompassed "the message to our 
youth," the effects of marijuana on the brain, the benefits of pot 
tourism and the need to create a "walkable city" so inebriates of any 
stripe stay out of their cars.

"We're only five square miles in Woodinville," said Deputy Mayor Liz 
Aspen during the Oct. 8 meeting. "I'm not sure why we would need an 
outlet for any kind of marijuana. I'm happy to let them go to Redmond 
or Kirkland or Bothell to get their fix."

The same night Woodinville officials were debating the merits of a 
recreational pot ban, the Liquor Control Board was holding a hearing 
on rules to regulate the marijuana market, which is expected to kick 
off early next year.

All pot operations must be licensed and at least 1,000 feet from 
schools, child-care centers, libraries and parks. Pot must be sold in 
childproof containers and tested for strength and purity.

The board will license 334 retail outlets, apportioned by population 
and geography. Woodinville was not selected as a retail site, but 
someone could still apply for an "at large" license there or seek 
permission to grow or process pot in the city's industrial zones.

Stewart, who lives in North Seattle, was one of several who 
complained during the long and angry meeting, only to be told that 
local government hurdles were prohibited under I-502. The circular 
discussion seemed to appease no one.

David Chartrand, with Everett-based Houston Herbals: "What about 
cities putting moratoriums on ... is the board doing anything about that?"

Karen McCall, rules coordinator for the Liquor Control Board: "The 
board will not deny a license based on a local authority.... The 
problem is, you go to the local authority, and they say, ' We don't 
give out business licenses.' "

Chartrand: "So we have to take them to court?"

Chris Marr, Liquor Control Board member: "We can't have a dry 
county." And, "There has to be provided reasonable accommodation to 
operate these businesses." And finally, "All of us should go back and 
work with our jurisdictions and help them do the right thing."

But "the right thing" is in the eye of the beholder.

Consider the city of Kent. The onetime "Lettuce Capital of the World" 
is now a manufacturing and distribution hub southeast of 
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, filled with strip malls and 
warehouses that could double as indoor marijuana grow sites.

Except for one small detail: The City Council voted in 2012 to ban 
medical marijuana collective gardens, calling them a "public 
nuisance." In July, the council decided not to vote on further 
marijuana ordinances, figuring its medical marijuana ban also 
prohibited recreational pot.

The Liquor Control Board begs to differ. The agency has ruled that 
three of the state's retail marijuana stores will be within Kent's boundaries.

Kent has already been sued by a group of cannabis enthusiasts for 
banning medical marijuana. The city won in a lower court, but that 
ruling is on appeal. A decision is not expected until summer, when 
the recreational market should be up and running.

One of the plaintiffs, John Worthington, who says he smokes pot to 
help allay chronic hip and back pain, does not believe Kent has the 
authority to ban marijuana in opposition to state regulations. The 
City Council, he said, "took matters into their own hands and decided 
to see how many of us potheads could get our acts together and stop them."

But Pat Fitzpatrick, acting city attorney, notes that marijuana is a 
controlled substance, regardless of Justice Department promises that 
Washington state and Colorado may build pot markets under certain 
tight restrictions.

"Many cities do not wish to be guinea pigs for this experiment by 
allowing for [marijuana] uses," Fitzpatrick said in an email. "They 
do not want to wake up in a decade to realize that a horrible mistake 
has been made."

Fitzpatrick said the "multimillion-dollar question" was whether the 
state could force cities to violate federal law.

"Chances are, some city is going to go to court" over recreational 
marijuana and local bans, he said. "My hope is that it will not be Kent."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom