By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch A proposed ban on legal marijuana sales in Pierce County will first be reviewed by the county's Planning Commission, the County Council decided last week in an action that one council member called "a delaying tacticGÇ¥ that could allow pot shops to open. The latest development in the council-led ban of marijuana retail businesses that were authorized by voters statewide in 2012 impacts another council action on the issue that's scheduled to take effect next month. Last December, the council dropped a requirement that in order for sellers of marijuana to obtain county permits, they must prove that marijuana isn't a federal-controlled substance and thus illegal under federal law. That change, which opens the door to legalized marijuana production and sales in unincorporated areas of the county, was set to take effect July 1 this year. But the council also ordered an advisory ballot measure to gauge the opinion of county voters on whether to allow state-licensed marijuana businesses. The non-binding result had 52 percent of the participating voters in favor of a ban. Councilwoman Joyce McDonald cited that opposition to marijuana businesses in the new ban that the council voted last week to give to the Planning Commission for a review of its land-use implications. After a public hearing on the measure June 14, McDonald reluctantly voted with three other council members to route the proposed ban through the commission. "This council should carry out the will of the peopleGÇ¥ based on the outcome of the advisory ballot measure, McDonald said. "It's not appropriate to forward this matter to the Planning Commission. It's a delaying tactic. But it's better than nothing, I guess.GÇ¥ Councilman Jim McCune, who also voted to involve the Planning Commission, said the issue could be moot if County Executive Pat McCarthy vetoes the proposed ban. In that case, marijuana businesses could start applying for county permits after July 1. A county hearing examiner would decide whether to approve their permits and allow them to open. The council's resistance of licensed marijuana businesses is contrary to Washington law that emerged from statewide voter approval in 2012 of Initiative 502, which called for a legalized market for regulated, recreational use of the drug. At that time, a majority of voters in Pierce County was part of the statewide majority of 56 percent in favor of I-502. The advisory ballot measure the council put before voters in April was only for the 214,461 voters in unincorporated parts of the county, since that's where the county regulations are in effect. About 31 percent of those voters participated in the non-binding election that cost the county approximately $400,000 to conduct. Reasons cited in the ordinance calling for the ban include what proponents call negative medical and societal impacts of marijuana. Councilman Rick Talbert, arguing the other side, said the council's job is "to provide the proper land-use provisions to meet the will of the people, which they stated four years agoGÇ¥ in voting on the statewide initiative. The council should get on with allowing legal small businesses to operate, he said. During the hearing last week, Richard Thurston, a Frederickson-area resident and a former member of the Planning Commission, told the council that commission oversight of the proposed ban is appropriate.
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