Pubdate: Sun, 16 Feb 2014
Source: Times-Tribune, The (Scranton PA)
Copyright: 2014 Townnews.com
Contact:  http://www.thetimes-tribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4440
Page: B5

OREGON COUNTY NEARS DISPENSARY BAN

ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) - One Oregon county that has pledged a moratorium
on pot dispensaries is closer to making that ban a reality.

The pot shops were made legal statewide by the Legislature last year.
Rules have been drawn up, and stores can apply for dispensary licenses
beginning March 3.

But some Yamhill County commissioners fear that loopholes in the law
will allow the dispensaries to operate as wholesale drug distribution
outposts.

The commissioners ordered staff to prepare an ordinance that would
place a one-year moratorium on marijuana dispensaries in rural areas
under county jurisdiction.

Their concerns are echoed in other communities around the state, which
are girding themselves to be the equivalent of "dry" counties that ban
alcohol sales.

In Myrtle Creek, the town's police chief and mayor oppose dispensaries
within city limits. In Medford, the city council made a rule change
mandating that business licenses could be revoked for violating the
federal prohibition on the drug.

Yamhill County Commissioner Kathy George said she supports a one-year
moratorium to allow the Legislature to work through amendments to the
law.

"I hesitate to open this up as a county, not because I want to keep
people who have medical needs for marijuana from getting it, but
because I am concerned about the lapses in the law," Ms. George said.
"There are a lot of questions this law has left unanswered."

Oregon law has allowed for medical marijuana since 1998, but there has
been a catch for patients: They could legally possess the drug, but
they had to find their own producer or grow it themselves. For
patients unwilling or unable to do so, that left options that included
the black market.

Marijuana advocates pitched the dispensary law as a course correction.
The pot shops, they said, provide safe access to patients and create a
viable system of reimbursement to the growers and a more accurate
market for marijuana prices by taking pot out of the hands of illicit
dealers.

Oregon voters rejected dispensaries in 2010, but legislators passed a
bill this year and set in motion a nine-month review process.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt