Pubdate: Sun, 11 May 2014
Source: Columbian, The (WA)
Copyright: 2014 The Columbian Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.columbian.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/92
Author: Gordon Oliver

MARIJUANA DEBATE FAR FROM OVER

It seems like every day brings a new surprise in the awkward
transition of marijuana from outlaw status to social acceptance. In
the blending between those ready to seize a rare entrepreneurial
moment and those whose job is to regulate and tax a product that's
still illegal in 48 states, it's been tough to select the most
discordant set of circumstances.

Here's one: A newly minted marijuana supplier in Vancouver is given a
15-day, no-questions-asked window to bring inventory into his
2,000-square-foot growing facility that turn the once-illegal plant
starts into a legal consumer product. A follow-up story about that
business is elsewhere in today's Columbian.

And another: A retail sales lottery applicant learned, after winning a
Liquor Control Board lottery to open a store in Battle Ground, that
the prospective landlord didn't want a marijuana retailer after all.
Now the applicant, Orchards Feed store owner Loren Carlson, is looking
for a new place to sell Mary Jane that still meets state
requirements.

Then there's the state Liquor Control Board's disqualification of a
North Bonneville retail applicant because his proposed store site was
less than 1,000 feet from a park -- that is, an RV park. On top of all
that, another applicant was approved at the same address, near the
same "park."

Such conflicts between marijuana legalization and government
regulation, law enforcement, finance, and community values keep piling
up. And while unregulated, illegal sales may be a purer form of
unfettered capitalism than legalized sales, many entrepreneurs are
lining up for what they perceive as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to get rich quick in a new market with proven consumer demand.

The last time an illegal substance was legalized on this scale was at
the end of Prohibition in 1933. Legalization was a half-step process
of selling booze in state-run liquor stores, and it took until 2013
for Washington to treat hard liquor like any other consumer product
(albeit with much higher taxes than most). That change, like marijuana
legalization, came from voters by initiative. But the transition is
muddled this time by the conflict between state and federal law.

The Obama administration has been deferential to legalization efforts
in Washington and Colorado, but many institutions aren't sure they
want to be on the wrong side of the federal government. That's why,
among other legalization rough spots, most banks don't want to deal
with the emerging marijuana industry. It's why the Columbia River
Gorge Commission had to debate whether to allow the growing and
selling of marijuana within the national scenic area, in light of
federal laws against marijuana. (It decided to defer to county
decisions). And it's why the owner of a medical marijuana dispensary
is challenging Washington's sales tax on his business in federal
court, saying he can't pay the tax without incriminating himself in a
criminal case for pot distribution.

At some point, the legal fights will fade and the larger questions
about legalization's effect on society will come into our homes and
families. That discussion could be the toughest fight of all.
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