Pubdate: Sun, 06 Sep 2015
Source: Herald and News (Klamath Falls, OR)
Copyright: 2015 Herald and News
Contact:  http://www.heraldandnews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2600
Author: Holly Dillemuth

POTENTIAL RECREATIONAL POT BAN GOES TO COUNCIL VOTE TUESDAY

What will the city of Klamath Falls decide when it comes to a 
possible ban on recreational marijuana sales within medical marijuana 
dispensaries inside city limits?

Find out at a 7 p.m. meeting of council members on Tuesday at City 
Hall, 500 Klamath Ave., Klamath Falls. The meeting has been moved in 
honor of Labor Day on Monday. Public comment is held at the beginning 
of the meeting.

City council members will consider the ban of recreational marijuana 
in medical marijuana dispensaries, as well as an emergency and a ban 
on recreational marijuana producers, processors, wholesalers and retailers.

The city will weigh two options: One, take no action and allow 
medical marijuana dispensaries to sell recreational marijuana; Two, 
adopt a ban on the sale of recreational pot in medical dispensaries.

If the majority of the five-member council members say no to 
recreational pot sales, council will need to also approve a city code 
detailing violation of the ban, punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 
or not more than six months in jail, according to a city memo.

One member of city council, Trish Seiler, has voiced opposition to a ban.

"I firmly believe if we vote to ban it, we are strengthening the 
black market," Seiler said. "If we vote to allow it, we are taking 
away the underpinnings of the black market."

At least three of the five council members, Bud Hart, Dan Tofell and 
Bill Adams, have verbally favored a ban in the past, which presents 
the potential for a majority vote.

If council members vote in favor of allowing recreational pot sales, 
the city would need to refer a measure to the voters of Klamath Falls 
in May 2016 that would allow a 3 percent tax on all recreational 
marijuana sales.

The city of Klamath Falls currently receives more than $300,000 in 
shared taxes for liquor, beer and wine and $28,700 for cigarette 
taxes in 2014, according to the city's staff report.

If the council members ban recreational pot business, the city will 
forgo an estimated $3,500-$7,000 in tax revenue that can only be 
directed toward "drug enforcement," according to the staff report. 
The state of Oregon estimates municipalities will collectively 
receive $10.7 million in taxes for recreational marijuana for the 
2015-17 biennium.

For a look at the full agenda for Tuesday's meeting, visit 
klamathfalls.city/your-government/agendas.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom