North Bend considers changes to medical marijuana ban
July 22, 2011
By Dan Catchpole
North Bend’s administration is considering changes to the city’s one-year moratorium on facilities for production or distribution of medical marijuana to recommend to City Council.
The Council heard testimony from Steve Sarich, a medical marijuana activist who lives near North Bend, at its July 19 meeting.
The current ban is overreaching and could prompt a lawsuit, Sarich said. The Council should scrap the ban and set up a working group to develop city policy and zoning rules for medical marijuana.
“We need to establish standards for people operating in our community,” he said.
Sarich has filed an injunction against the state law on medical marijuana that goes into effect Friday, July 22, arguing that the law is unenforceable because it lacks adequate definitions of terms and intentions.
The law, Senate Bill 5073, passed this spring but large parts where cut out by Gov. Chris Gregoire. The bill does permit authorized patients to form collective gardens, something that is prohibited under North Bend’s ban.
Any recommended changes will be presented to City Council at its Aug. 2 meeting.
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