SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON PATIENTS PLEASE READ: Possible ordinance for collective grows.

http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/nov/24/Vancouver-rules-collective-pot-gardens/

Article: The Vancouver City Council tentatively agreed last week to consider restricting collective medical marijuana gardens to areas zoned for heavy and light industry.
The council will do a first reading of the ordinance Monday and can send it on to a public hearing, 7 p.m. Dec. 3 at City Hall, 415 W. Sixth St.
During a workshop on Nov. 19, councilors asked why the proposed ordinance was so restrictive. In addition to being in heavy or light industrial areas, gardens would have to be at least 1,000 feet from schools, community centers, public parks, licensed day-care facilities and other collective gardens.
As one councilor asked, "Are there any spaces left?"
Heavy industrial and light industrial zones include areas such as the Port of Vancouver, Columbia Business Center and Columbia Tech business park.
Community and Economic Development Director Chad Eiken said he felt the ordinance struck a balance between allowing them everywhere and not allowing them anywhere, approaches taken by other jurisdictions in the state with mixed results.
Councilors asked City Attorney Ted Gathe how the approval of Initiative 502 will affect medical marijuana use, and he said that remains to be seen.
I-502 addressed recreational use, Gathe said, as it decriminalized the possession of up to 1 ounce of marijuana for adults 21 and older. The law changes Dec. 6, but the state has a year to establish guidelines for growing, processing and selling it. The state has also been waiting to see if the federal government plans to intervene.
Medical marijuana was decriminalized in 1998, but it wasn't until 2011 that regulations were established for collective gardens.
Regulations state that no more than 10 card-carrying patients can have a collective garden with no more than 45 plants. A copy of each patient's medical documentation must be kept on the premises, and a patient can belong to only one garden at a time. The state gave local jurisdictions the right to set zoning restrictions.
Both the city of Vancouver and Clark County commissioners have subjected the law to extended moratoria.
County commissioners, who will decide where gardens can be located in unincorporated areas, are expected to discuss the topic at a work session on Wednesday.
Under the city's ordinance, collective gardens would have to be inside buildings secured with deadbolt locks. No signs or symbols advertising the garden would be allowed, and no on-site sales or sales of drug paraphernalia would be allowed. The security and absence of cash may discourage would-be robbers, Eiken said.
While the city would not license the gardens, the operator of the garden must notify the city, according to the proposed ordinance.
Hours would be restricted, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and nobody younger than 18 would be allowed at the gardens.
The city first enacted a six-month moratorium on collective gardens in July 2011. The extended moratorium will expire at the end of this year.

Opinion Piece: Collective gardens I can understand this to an extent, but some of it is taking to too far. Such as the industrial area clause, which could makes medical cannabis growth even more expensive and the clause that states a caregiver or collective representative can't tend the crops at odd hours. For one it makes it much easier to track patients coming to and from the collective. If a law like this went into effect in Vancouver it won't be long before all of clark county period will come up with some new rule like this to make sure medical cannabis collectives can't compete with Washington's proposed or upcoming government cannabis. And then... the rest of the state. If this comes to a public vote I hope the people consider it carefully...

Yeah this is gov trying their normal BS! They pass laws that seem ok but if you read them they are just trying to bully home growers into buying from the state! They pass it along as " We just want these MMJ growers to not grow it around our inocent children" and who can argue with that? But in their little bill is a bunch of other bull shit that most people are to lazy to read and it gets passed right on through. before you know it your rights are slowly taken away! We are good cus we have the Cancer card on our side! Who can argue with that? Ya wana really go on TV against a guy with MS in a wheel chair and tell them they can't have MMJ? Or they can't grow their own cus you want money from them? It all works out in the end, but it is important to stay informed! And to support those who do take up the fight against BS Marijuana laws.

in prep for the commercial growers the state will license.....doesnt mean the indivdual patient cant grow his 15... just means 45 will have to be grown in a warehouse in the industrail areas

they have certain warehouses that allow medical grows in colorado.....they doubled/tripples their rent rates accordingly... $1500 2000sq ft now goes for $3000-4500

colonuggs said:

in prep for the commercial growers the state will license.....doesnt mean the indivdual patient cant grow his 15... just means 45 will have to be grown in a warehouse in the industrail areas

they have certain warehouses that allow medical grows in colorado.....they doubled/tripples their rent rates accordingly... $1500 2000sq ft now goes for $3000-4500

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Correct this ONLY effects co-op's and collectives. Individual patients grow rights aren't being messed with yet. But this is still a large precedent and it won't be much longer until they stipulate home growing as an individual the same way as these proposed collective rules. At least if this is passed...

HippySmoke said:

Correct this ONLY effects co-op's and collectives. Individual patients grow rights aren't being messed with yet. But this is still a large precedent and it won't be much longer until they stipulate home growing as an individual the same way as these proposed collective rules. At least if this is passed...

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My point is that they slowly creep in on your rights! They do it slowly so it doesn't look like they are doing anything! I use to be a smoker and I don't think people should smoke but it is THEIR buisness so I mind my own! But they slowly took away people "right" to smoke. I guess it's a right? But anyway they told them no smoking on planes, ok we can deal with that, now you can only smoke in a secton of the restaraunt, OK thats fine, then no smoking in the buildings, now ya gotta go outside. Well that sucks! Oh wait not just outside now ya gotta go 25 feet away! Now in some states you can't smoke in public! Second hand smoke? It is slow because if they told all the smokers in the world 15 yrs ago that you can't smoke anywhere but your house everyone would be up in arms!

So they do it little by little and then you turn around and we wont be able to grow our own even if it is MMJ! The state could sell it to people with their MMJ cards for chearper due to it being meds. then they can stop all the home grows due to them not being in an industrial part of town! Or a licensed daycare! You know how many poeple do daycare from their house? LOOP hole! We will just have to wait and see what happens. Like I said thogh we have good reasons to keep our MMJ cards but trust me the state doesn't like loosing money on weed and they wont let it go on long once they realize there isn't as much money in MJ as they thought! then they will criminalize us to the public and ask why aren't they paying taxes on their meds? You do if you go and get them from Wal Mart right?

Another article from the columbian:

http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/nov/28/county-weighs-ban-on-collective-marijuana-gardens/

Clark County is moving toward a ban on collective medical marijuana gardens.
Commissioners Marc Boldt and Tom Mielke both instructed county staff at a Wednesday morning workshop meeting to begin work on a policy that would prohibit the gardens as an acceptable land use in the county. Commissioner Steve Stuart was absent from the meeting.
The gardens allow medical marijuana growers to establish community gardens where as many as 10 patients can grow up to 45 plants. The state approved the gardens last year, but the county placed a moratorium on them until June 2013 to come up with an implementation plan.
Boldt and Mielke both said they are concerned that allowing the gardens would fly in the face of federal law, which prohibits marijuana use, sale and cultivation. Commissioners also said they would prefer to wait and see how the federal government handles voter-approved Initiative 502, which will allow adults older than 21 to use recreational marijuana.
"We took an oath to uphold the federal law, too," Mielke said. "I think there are too many unanswered questions here. For us to move forward (on allowing zoning) would be premature."
Commissioners also referenced a letter the county received from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency as a reason for their decision. That letter said if the county were to be involved in the permitting or regulation of such gardens, it could be in violation of federal law.
Another option presented to the board attempts to skirt that concern by simply zoning the use and staying out of the development and permitting process. But commissioners elected to play it safe and avoid the matter entirely.
The ban isn't county law yet. An ordinance establishing a ban likely won't go to the board for adoption until just before the moratorium is set to expire in June.
Mielke pointed out that gives the board "another four or five months" to discuss the situation as members observe how the federal government reacts to Initiative 502.
Commissioner-elect David Madore will replace Boldt in January, making him a voting member on the future ordinance. He said he agreed with the county's decision to ban the use as it goes against federal law.
Banning the use isn't unprecedented. The city of Kent has banned the gardens, and that ban was upheld by King County Superior Court in October. The city of Camas also bans the gardens, saying land use not allowed by state and federal law is prohibited.
Chris Horne, a county deputy prosecuting attorney, told commissioners at the meeting he did not believe the county was endangering itself legally with the ban.
The city of Vancouver appears to be taking a different approach. Earlier this month the city council tentatively agreed on a plan to zone the gardens in heavy and light industrial areas.
A public hearing on the city ordinance is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 415 W. Sixth St.

I would like that Hippy just for the info but I can't bring myself! God what a line of Bullshit! They are trying to weed out the big growers that they see as a threat to their state taxes! Plane and simple! If those fucks cared about their "Oaths" they wouldn't be so easy to buy! Big buisness is looking at comming into the market and growing for the state, they want some of the competition gone! Or it's just the state assholes trying to ban it! Why not make their county a dry county of weed? And then don't let their county profit from the sales of MJ in the state! See if they will stand by their "Oaths" then? Bunch of fucking cock suckers!

http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/dec/03/vancouver-sets-rules-for-marijuana-gardens/

Collective medical marijuana gardens will be allowed in certain city zones come January, as the Vancouver City Council voted 6-1 on Monday to approve them.
Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt acknowledged that the ordinance isn't going to please everyone, as people who testified Monday said the zoning rules were too restrictive.
"We can take that up and evaluate it over the next year," Leavitt said. "We always have the option to amend our ordinances."
While more than two dozen people showed up at City Hall, only six testified. Five spoke in favor of the ordinance and one person -- who works for the Clark County Sheriff's Office -- remained neutral.
Sgt. Shane Gardner, speaking as a neighborhood association leader, said he understands that the city councilors were in a difficult spot as they are caught between conflicting state and federal laws. He said he appreciated the code restrictions, such as the fact that gardens must be at least 1,000 feet from schools, community centers, public parks, licensed day care facilities and other collective gardens.
James Barber, who has sued the city over the extended moratorium on collective gardens, said medical marijuana shouldn't be treated differently from other prescription drugs.
"Do you want to get into people's medicine cabinets?" Barber asked.
Vancouver resident Matt Wood said he feels people who grow medical marijuana for terminally ill patients get lumped in with people who abuse the system.
Under the new law, collective gardens will be only in areas zoned either light industrial or heavy industrial.
Such zones include the Port of Vancouver, Columbia Business Center and Columbia Tech Center business park.
The spaces at the port are too large and expensive for patients to rent, Wood said. He would like the city to add more locations. "It is not perfect, but it is a start," Wood said of the ordinance.
Mike Sutherland, director of Medi Brothers, told the council he provides medical marijuana to qualifying patients.
Medical marijuana was decriminalized in Washington in 1989, but there are too many restrictions, he said. "Our number one goal is safe access for patients."
It wasn't until 2011 that state regulations were established for collective gardens, and Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed several sections of the bill. She left it for local jurisdictions to decide whether to set zoning restrictions.
The city first enacted a six-month moratorium on collective gardens in July 2011.
Had the council done nothing on Monday, the moratorium would have expired at the end of the year and the gardens would have been allowed in every zone.
Under the city ordinance, operators do not need to obtain a business permit from the city, but they do need to notify the city and give the city a contact name and number.
Up to 10 patients can share a collective garden with no more than 45 plants.
Community and Economic Development Director Chad Eiken said a copy of each patient's medical documentation must be kept on the premises. A patient can belong to only one garden at a time, and has to be a member for 30 days before receiving any marijuana. The gardens will have to be inside a building secured with deadbolt locks, and no signs or symbols advertising the garden will be allowed.
Also, no on-site sales, including sales of drug paraphernalia, will be permitted.
Eiken said the law will take effect Jan. 2.
Councilor Bill Turlay voted against the ordinance, as he said in an earlier meeting he would not support something that's in violation of federal law.
Councilor Jeanne Stewart initially said Monday that the federal government needs to reassess medical marijuana and possibly reclassify it. This shouldn't be a fight at the local level, she said. Councilor Larry Smith followed Stewart's remarks by saying he lives in the real world, where federal officials can't even balance a budget. We can't wait for the feds to act, Smith said.
Councilors Jack Burkman and Jeanne Harris said they will side with state law over federal law, particularly since voters declassified medical marijuana years ago and in November a majority of voters supported Initiative 502.
That law, which takes effect Thursday, allows adults 21 and older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana.
After hearing from the other councilors, Stewart changed her mind and voted for the ordinance.
Councilor Bart Hansen and Leavitt also voted yes.
Last week, the county commissioners, who have authority over unincorporated areas, indicated they will ban the gardens.
The county's moratorium doesn't expire until the summer.