Pubdate: Sat, 16 May 2015 Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) Copyright: 2015 The Oregonian Contact: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324 Author: Tony Hernandez WHILE WAITING ON SALEM, CITIES GRAPPLE WITH MARIJUANA REGULATIONS Gresham's debate this month over whether to allow medical marijuana businesses exposed a deep divide of opinion about the drug in the state. Supporters, like Councilor Karylinn Echols, argued city government shouldn't stand in the way of a patient's need for medication while Council President Jerry Hinton, who opposes the businesses, said he doesn't want to provide access to another intoxicating drug to residents. "I need to represent that half of the citizens of Gresham that did not vote for marijuana," Hinton said just before the City Council adopted regulations on a 4-3 vote that allow the businesses but only with tight regulations and expensive fees. Their debate mirrors what's happening in state Capitol as lawmakers reached an impasse last week over how much power cities and counties should have to prohibit medical marijuana facilities. Members of a House-Senate committee on marijuana couldn't agree whether or not any local ban should have to go directly to voters. Just as in Gresham, the legislative debate revolved around whether it was more important to preserve patient access to medical marijuana or whether the leaders of local communities should have the ability to chart their own course. The issue also goes beyond medical marijuana. Legislators will also weigh demands from city and county associations that they revamp the marijuana legalization measure approved by voters last fall to give local governments the power to prohibit retail sales of the drug. Under the initiative, Measure 91, only voters can approve a ban by collecting enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot. "The question that we've been struggling with is how to help communities that don't quite feel they're culturally ready for this transition to ease into a new situation," said Rep. Ann Lininger, D-Lake Oswego and the co-chair of the marijuana committee. Lininger, along with a majority of the House members of the committee, argued that any local medical marijuana ban should be automatically sent to voters for their approval. Besides being fair to patients, she said it also keeps faith with Measure 91. Cities and counties were allowed to place a one-year moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries and processors while they considered how to regulate them. All told, 146 cities and 26 counties took advantage of the moratorium, which expired on May 1. Legislators and local officials alike are trying to figure out what comes next, and there's debate about whether local governments can continue to ban the facilities under existing law. Senate leaders will attempt to break the legislative impasse on Monday when they send the medical marijuana bill through a newly created committee. That bill is expected to include a provision giving local governments the right to ban medical marijuana facilities although local voters could attempt to overturn such a ban by collecting enough signatures to take the issue to the ballot. Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, co-chairs the House-Senate committee and the new panel that will meet Monday, said she thinks a strong majority of the Senate will support this approach, and that will help persuade the House to go along. Meanwhile, residents in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties are seeing a mixed bag of decisions by city and county leaders. At least, twelve cities have adopted policies to allow medical marijuana dispensaries, while at least five others have kept existing bans in place or issued new ones. Washington and Clackamas counties have also passed policies to allow the businesses in rural areas. Lake Oswego, for example, adopted an ordinance banning medical marijuana businesses on April 21. City attorney David Powell said the ban isn't taking a position on the use of medical pot, but the city wants more time to see how dispensaries roll out. Lake Oswego Mayor Kent Studebaker said he prefers the Senate's version requiring citizens to mount a petition campaign to challenge a vote by the council. It's not hard to get the signatures 4 percent of the votes cast in the city in the last governor's election needed to qualify for the ballot, he said. Studebaker said he didn't think city residents are against the purposes of medical marijuana for the purposes of pain management. "I think our residents are smart enough and realize that medical marijuana is being abused and they understand that some of that may have an impact on what kind of people dispensaries attract," Studebaker said. Last month, Wilsonville city councilors approved a resolution that said even though the moratorium on marijuana dispensaries expired in May, the city would continue to enforce an ordinance that prohibits licensing any business that violate state and federal law. "We wanted to make it clear to the people in Wilsonville that until the Legislature finishes this session, we are staying with our status quo," Wilsonville Assistant City Attorney Barbara Jacobson said. In Gresham, Alexander Pavich, one of the first business owners in the state to open a medical marijuana dispensary, drove around looking at the few siting options under consideration by the city. He found mostly industrial areas and a few commercial areas that he said were either full or would not allow pot businesses. He reviewed the detailed rules and regulations that were eventually adopted by the City Council. "By imposing too many restrictions up front, I believe you will only be discouraging our mission and continue to fuel black-market sales in the community," Pavich told the City Council. In addition to strictly limiting locations, the city also said medical marijuana businesses will have to pay $5,250 in registration fees compared to $75 for a normal business license. Despite the appearance by the City Council of allowing medical marijuana businesses, it is really saying businesses should stay away, Amy Margolis, an attorney and lobbyist for marijuana businesses, said on Monday. No one has registered or picked up an application as of Friday morning, said Wendy Lawton, Gresham city spokeswoman. Some could start the process next week, she said. Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis voted against the regulations because he preferred to wait on the Legislature before moving forward. He also questioned the fairness of the business registration fees. He doesn't know if the council's action will attract or repel medical marijuana businesses. "Time will tell," Bemis said. "This is new territory for all, and local governments all over the state are trying to navigate through it." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom