Pubdate: Fri, 05 Aug 2016
Source: Mail Tribune, The (Medford, OR)
Copyright: 2016 The Mail Tribune
Contact:  http://www.mailtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/642
Note: Only prints LTEs from within it's circulation area, 200 word count limit
Author: Madeline Shannon, Grants Pass Daily Courier

GRANTS PASS WILL ASK VOTERS TO BAN ALL POT COMMERCE

Both Medical and Recreational Marijuana Commerce Would Be Outlawed If 
Measure Passes

In a unanimous vote Wednesday night, Grants Pass City Council 
referred an ordinance to the November ballot that would ban virtually 
all forms of marijuana commerce in the city.

The decision comes about a year after the council voted to enact two 
ordinances banning marijuana, one dealing with recreational marijuana 
and the other dealing with medical marijuana. The new version 
approved Wednesday consolidates both medical and recreational into a 
single ordinance.

Oregon voters approved a 2014 ballot measure legalizing recreational 
use of marijuana. In implementing the measure, the Oregon Legislature 
made it legal for cities to ban marijuana commerce, but only if such 
an ordinance is approved in a vote of the people.

"It allows voters to trim it down to one vote," Council President Dan 
DeYoung said. "If we lump the two together, we can take that to the 
voters. If they say yes, then both of them will be in, and if they 
say no, both of them will be out."

Some of the difficulties in enforcing two different laws regarding 
marijuana businesses, both medical and recreational, include making 
sure medical marijuana growers, processors and dispensaries are doing 
business only in the medical marijuana trade.

"If the ordinance was split in half, we'd start getting complaints 
from people who know a medical marijuana grower is also selling 
recreational marijuana," DeYoung said. "But it would be very hard to 
try and prove that."

Although Josephine County is among the state's leaders in marijuana 
production, DeYoung and other council members indicated it is not 
popular among their constituents.

"People in favor of marijuana businesses come in here screaming at me 
that I'm not listening to the people," De Young said. "But I run in a 
different pack of dogs than they do. My people all say no, so I bring 
that here and vote no."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom