Pubdate: Fri, 29 Aug 2014
Source: Albany Democrat-Herald (OR)
Copyright: 2014 Lee Enterprises
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/HPOp5PfB
Website: http://www.democratherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/7

BROWNSVILLE SHOULD AVOID ESCALATING MEDICAL-POT fight

Recent developments in Brownsville should serve as a reminder that,
even as Oregonians start to debate the merit of a ballot measure that
would legalize the recreational use of marijuana, we still haven't
ironed out all the wrinkles regarding the state's medical marijuana
program.

In Brownsville, Gayle and Randy Simpson announced plans to open a
medical marijuana dispensary - as allowed under the state legislation
authorizing such facilities. The state gave the Simpsons' operation,
Green Cross Dispensary, a one-year certification back in May.

But then, the Brownsville City Council - under the authority of
another legislative measure that passed earlier this year - enacted a
one-year moratorium prohibiting the establishment of any medical
marijuana facilities within the city limits.

As if that wasn't clear enough, the council in July reinforced that
decision by mandating that all registered businesses in the city be in
compliance with local, county, state and federal laws. Since marijuana
is still classified as a controlled substance by the U.S. government,
that essentially blocks any medical pot enterprise from opening in
Brownsville.

The next move belonged to the Simpsons, who announced this week that
they planned to use their building for a medical marijuana resource
center instead. The Simpsons say they'll hold regular events for
Oregon Medical Marijuana Program cardholders, including medical
marijuana giveaways, beginning at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 31. Randy
Simpson said he envisions using the building, at 333 N. Main St. in
Brownsville, to hold potlucks, game nights and seminars about how to
grow medical marijuana.

The social events, of course, all are legal - and, apparently, so is
the medical marijuana giveaway, presuming that both of the parties to
the transaction are medical marijuana cardholders. Randy Simpson said
local cardholders increasingly have been contacting him and his wife
regarding donations. He told a Democrat-Herald reporter: "In time,
we'll have an army of cardholders working with us to end this medical
marijuana prohibition madness in Brownsville."

Well, to some extent, those are fighting words. Brownsville City
Administrator Scott McDowell said that the Simpsons "are pushing every
button they can possibly push." But McDowell noted that the next move
would be up to the City Council.

Our advice to the council would be to just walk away, at least for the
time being, from this fight. The one-year moratorium was meant, in
part, to give cities and counties a chance to bide their time while
some of the broader legal issues regarding the dispensaries got hashed
out in court. Those court cases have been filed on the county level
and it seems a good bet that higher state courts will get a chance to
weigh in before long, bringing (one would hope) a level of clarity to
the issue that legislators have failed to provide. There isn't any
reason for Brownsville to add any additional murk to these already
muddy legal waters.

Besides, if Oregon voters do move ahead in November to approve
legalization, these medical marijuana questions might soon take a back
seat to an entirely different set of challenging issues.
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MAP posted-by: Matt