Pubdate: Fri, 24 Oct 2014
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2014 The Associated Press
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Gene Johnson, The Associated Press
Page: B2

SEATTLE SENDS WARNING LETTERS TO 300 MEDICAL-MARIJUANA SHOPS

Need to Be Licensed or Shut Down

But State Hasn't Set Up Licensing System Yet

(AP) - The city of Seattle is warning more than 300 medical-marijuana 
businesses that their days could be numbered.

Officials have sent letters to medical-marijuana growers, processors 
and dispensaries reminding them they need to either shut down or be 
licensed by the state by next summer.

The problem is that the Legislature hasn't created a licensing system 
to allow sales of medical marijuana.

How to regulate pot for medical use is expected to be a hot topic 
when lawmakers go back into session in January. Officials fear the 
unregulated cannabis is competing with Washington's new, highly taxed 
recreational market.

Some lawmakers, including Rep. Chris Hurst, an Enumclaw Democrat who 
heads the House committee that oversees the marijuana industry, have 
urged the city to crack down on its proliferation of medical-pot 
shops, and the U.S. Attorney's Offices in Seattle and Spokane have 
long said the state's unregulated medical-pot system isn't tenable.

The Seattle City Council voted last year to give medical-marijuana 
businesses that opened before Nov. 16, 2013, time to obtain state 
licenses, anticipating that the Legislature would adopt such a 
licensing scheme. But it also said medical-pot dispensaries opening 
after that date would not be tolerated.

Nevertheless, dozens have opened in the city since then, city records 
show. In their letters this month, two city departments - Planning 
and Development, and Finance and Administrative Services - warned: 
"If you began operating after Nov. 16, 2013 and do not have a state 
issued license, you are in violation of city law and can be subject 
to enforcement action."

The letters worried medical marijuana advocates who say they fear 
patients will have a harder time finding cannabis.

"We're urging the Legislature to adopt a legal framework that can 
allow the two programs - adult use and medical - to exist 
side-by-side," said Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe 
Access. "In the meantime, the city of Seattle should back off its 
stringent stance on requiring medical-marijuana businesses to obtain 
a license that doesn't yet exist."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom