Council Votes To Amend Them Into Oblivion

They weren't killed outright, but the Hailey City Council effectively snuffed out three controversial marijuana reform initiatives approved by voters in November.

Instead of repealing the initiatives, the council voted unanimously Monday to amend them into meaninglessness. Since the meeting was running late, the members scheduled a dissection of the three initiatives for their next meeting on Jan. 28.

At that time, the council will consider sanitized versions of the initiatives prepared by City Attorney Ned Williamson, who said he'll take out provisions contrary to federal or state law.

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The Idaho Meth Project today begins broadcasting television ads in its much-anticipated anti-meth campaign, according to an e-mail from Ross Mason, a Boise-based regional director for the group.

The campaign, targeted at viewers age 12 to 17, is based on a project t credited for drastically reducing meth use in Montana. Organizers here hope similar ads will curb the number of Idaho teens who try meth for the first time.

Montana began its program of often graphic TV, newspaper, radio and billboard ads in 2005, when it ranked fifth nationally in meth abuse, according to the group's Web site, which cites a federal report. A year later, Montana ranked 39.

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Organizers Claim School District Is 'Creating Throw-Away Kids'

A half dozen protesters braved cold weather and blowing snow Monday morning to protest the Blaine County School District's policy for expelling troublesome students.

"They're creating throw-away kids in the valley," said Dana Barbee, an adolescent addiction counselor and one of the organizers of the demonstration in front of the school district office on West Bullion Street in Hailey.

Demonstrators complained that the district's expulsion policy short-changes expellees on their education, retards their socialization process and typically puts the children on a course that only leads to more problems.

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There has never been a drug as powerful, addictive and quick to destroy lives as methamphetamine.And before you quit reading this editorial because you believe meth use doesn't impact you, consider:

. 63 percent of Idaho felony drug court participants indicate meth is their drug of choice.

. 1 in 36 Idaho men are in prison or on probation or parole. 75 percent of offenders with a drug problem say that meth is their drug of choice.

. $66 million is the amount the state of Idaho spends annually to house inmates who admit to having a meth problem.

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The Hailey City Council will scratch its collective head a little longer over three sticky marijuana initiatives approved by voters in November.

"This is such a unique situation that I feel comfortable for you to take your time in dealing with it," Hailey City Attorney Ned Williamson told the council Thursday evening after discussing a report on the initiatives from the Idaho Attorney General's Office.

The report identifies three legal conflicts with the initiatives. One, marijuana is illegal in Idaho and cities do not have the authority to override state law; two, provisions of the initiatives that require city officials to lobby for reform of marijuana laws violate constitutional free speech rights; and three, the initiative that makes enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest police priority inappropriately meddles with administrative matters.

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Thank you for reporting on the controversial so-called "marijuana initiatives" recently approved by Hailey voters. In future articles, please note that industrial hemp is not marijuana. Yes, they are both members of the cannabis family but hemp plants contain very little, if any, of the psychoactive agent THC. The controversy surrounding marijuana reform is a completely separate discussion from issues regarding the growing of industrial hemp and I hope your upcoming stories will more clearly express this important distinction.

The beneficial uses of hemp are numerous and throughout history hemp has been regarded as one of the world's most useful crops. In George Washington's time, most U.S. farmers were required by law to grow hemp because it had so many beneficial uses, including fabric for clothing, paper products, ropes, lotions and soil improvement. In addition, hemp is drought resistant and it's seeds, which are prized for their high Omega 3 oil content, are one of the most nutritious foods on the planet.

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KIMBERLY - Eleven months of campaigning seems to have paid off for the Idaho Meth Project.

Debbie Field, director of the Idaho Office of Drug Policy, told a gathering of city and county officials Wednesday night that the $2.7 million media campaign will launch during the first week of January to coincide with Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's Jan. 7 State of the State address.

Field said she is hoping the campaign, modeled after a highly successful project in Montana and even using some of the same ads, will convince teens ages 12 to 17 not to try meth. About $1.4 million has been raised through private donations for the project, she said, enough to pay for the campaign for the first quarter of 2008 and one-half of the second.

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Sure, passing three pro-marijuana initiatives may seem hip and edgy, but for the city of Hailey, they are turning into a major headache that may cost one city councilor her seat.

According to the Mountain Express, all three of the initiatives are in direct conflict with state and federal laws, and it could mean the loss of federal funding for the Hailey police. The initiatives include one that legalizes the use of medical marijuana, another legalizes the use of hemp and the third makes the enforcement of marijuana laws the city's lowest priority. A fourth initiative that would have required the city to tax marijuana sales, and regulate its use, was not passed.

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HAILEY - Three of Hailey's four City Council members voted Monday to freeze their consideration of three recently passed marijuana reform acts while the Idaho Attorney General's office forms an opinion on the legality of the acts.

But all three council members seemed willing to follow the will of voters, so long as it poses no conflict with their oath to not violate state laws. In the meantime they are heeding the direction of the city attorney.

"It is my strong recommendation that we do not pursue an option tonight," said City Attorney Ned Williamson, who pointed out the apparent conflict between the state Constitution and the ordinances.

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Mayor-Elect Cites Abuse of Medical Marijuana Use Elsewhere

The people have spoken, but mayor-elect Rick Davis thinks the passage earlier this month of marijuana reform initiatives will harm the city of Hailey.

"We definitely got national attention, but is that the kind of attention that is going to draw new business here? I don't think so," said Davis, a 16-year City Council veteran elected Hailey's mayor on Nov. 6.

Hailey voters approved three marijuana reform initiatives on election day: one to legalize medical use of marijuana, another to legalize industrial use of hemp and a third that would make enforcement of marijuana laws the city's lowest police priority.

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City Officials Examine Ramifications Of Implementation

The city of Hailey made national news last week after voters approved three citizen initiatives to reform marijuana laws.

Hailey jointed Denver as two Western cities having passed pro-marijuana measures on election day, Nov. 6.

The Associated Press moved a story on passage of the initiatives early the following day and Hailey's pro-pot vote was featured in the Wall Street Journal, Times magazine online and numerous other publications.

Meanwhile, Hailey city officials are expected to make an announcement later this week on how they plan to deal with the issue.

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It was a "grass roots" movement in the right direction (up) last week when the small Idaho city of Hailey passed three out of four pro-marijuana initiatives that were on the ballot. Hailey citizens have thereby chosen to help bring some sanity into the drug laws of America and into the lives of the people impacted by them, starting at home.

They voted to legalize the medical use of marijuana, to make enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest priority and to legalize industrial uses of hemp within the city. Unfortunately, an initiative to regulate and tax marijuana sales and establish a Community Oversight Committee did not receive enough votes. Marijuana is not going to go away, and having the elected government of the community tax and regulate it is a far better system for society than the one in place.

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HAILEY, Idaho - City residents voted Tuesday to legalize medical marijuana, make enforcing pot laws the lowest police priority and decriminalize industrial hemp.

But they rejected a companion measure that foresaw the city regulating and taxing legal pot sales.

The medical marijuana and industrial hemp measures each passed with 54 percent of the vote, while 51 percent of voters supported making pot arrests the lowest police priority.

Meanwhile, the initiative to legalize pot sales to adults was supported by only 46 percent of voters.

Just where this leaves this central Idaho town is uncertain, because officials with the Idaho attorney general say state and federal laws that criminalize all marijuana trump new municipal codes.

City officials said before the vote they expected litigation if the measures passed

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Results Likely to Lead to More Litigation

Hailey's electorate approved three of four marijuana legalization or reform initiatives in a city election Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Voter returns that came in late Tuesday night showed close voting but approval of initiatives to legalize medical use of marijuana, to make enforcement of marijuana laws the city's lowest police priority and to legalize industrial use of hemp.

The initiative that failed would have mandated the city to regulate and tax marijuana sales and to establish a Community Oversight Committee to iron out the details for legalization.

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In this upcoming election, the citizens of Hailey will be able to vote on four initiatives proposed by the Liberty Lobby, a group led by Ryan Davidson of Garden City, Idaho. Any initiative passed by the voters will become the law of the city of Hailey. The four initiatives are entitled The Hailey Industrial Hemp Act, The Hailey Lowest Police Priority Act, The Hailey Medical Marijuana Act and The Hailey Cannabis Regulation and Revenue Ordinance. I will not debate whether marijuana or hemp should be legalized. But as the Hailey city attorney, I just want the voters to be aware of the potential financial costs of these measures.

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This year voters in the valley's cities are privileged to have a surfeit of sparring candidates from which to choose. They will also decide on the fate of a marijuana initiative in Hailey.

This newspaper's endorsements are just one piece of the decision puzzle for voters. They are made after careful study of the candidates' understanding of local government structure, positions on issues and experience.

We looked for candidates who understand the difficulties facing the valley's businesses and employees, the critical need for workforce housing, the need for all the valley's cities to address common problems and the need to protect the valley's clean air, water and open spaces. In Ketchum, we looked for candidates who favor aggressive moves to facilitate development of new hotels.

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Litigation Likely If Pot Initiatives Approved By Electorate

If a set of proposed marijuana legalization initiatives are approved in Hailey, a maelstrom of opposition may arise from state and federal government.

The Idaho Attorney General's Office declined to say what it will do if marijuana is legalized in the city, but issued the following statement on Monday through spokeswoman Kriss Bivens Cloyd:

"The municipalities do not have the authority to repeal state or federal criminal laws. Under state and federal law possession of marijuana is a crime."

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Even If Measure Passes, Possibility of Lawsuits Lingers

When Hailey voters go to the polls next week they'll have an opportunity to light up a whole new Rocky Mountain high.

Thanks to an activist who doesn't live there, voters will be asked to cast ballots on four separate but related measures that aim to legalize marijuana use in the Blaine County ski town. If they approve any or all, city and state officials will be handed a difficult and potentially expensive legal problem of how to interpret the will of the people when the people want to do something that is clearly illegal everywhere else.

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Marijuana prohibition has done little other than burden millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens with criminal records. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Study reports that lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European country, yet America is one of the few Western countries that punishes citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis.

Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. The short-term health effects of marijuana are inconsequential compared to the long-term effects of criminal records.

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Cannabis Advocate Meets City's Initiative Process Requirements

Hailey's electorate will vote in November on proposed initiatives to legalize or decriminalize marijuana within the city limits.

After legal battles with Hailey for more than three years, pro-marijuana advocate Ryan Davidson, chairman of Liberty Lobby of Idaho, has successfully complied with city requirements to put his initiatives before the voters.

Davidson was notified on Friday, the deadline for completion of initiative requirements, that his pro-marijuana initiatives will be on the ballot for the city's Nov. 6 general election.

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