By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch Any possibility of a state-licensed marijuana business in Eatonville is likely on hold for at least the first half of 2015 as a result of a moratorium imposed by the Town Council. The six-month ban on growing, processing and selling marijuana inside town limits will expire June 22 unless the council ends it early or extends it. In approving the moratorium Dec. 22, council members decided the town should follow the lead of court decisions in 2014 that gave local governments the authority to regulate or ban marijuana businesses despite voter-approved state law that allows retail pot enterprises. No such businesses exist or have been proposed in Eatonville. The town's Planning Commission recommended land-use zoning that would have designated areas where state-licensed retail operations could exist in Eatonville. But council members said the town should close its door to pot businesses until local impacts are worked out. Councilman James Schrimpsher and others noted that Eatonville's police would have the job locally of enforcing Initiative 502, the voter-authorized retail marijuana law, but wouldn't have any additional revenue from taxes on marijuana operations to help pay for that enforcement. The town already has trouble affording police protection without the added responsibility of I-502, said Councilwoman Abby Gribi. Schrimpsher, noting that cities as large as Bellevue and Kent also have moratoriums on pot businesses, said Eatonville isn't the only municipality that wants revenue from the state for local policing. "The problem isn't just in small towns," said the councilman, who works in the Algona Police Department. The state accepted applications for retailer, producer and processor licenses through Dec. 18, 2013 and currently isn't accepting any more. Possession of more than one ounce, production and delivery of marijuana (including medical marijuana) is a crime in Washington without a proper state license. All possession, production and delivery of marijuana is a federal crime. The Pierce County Council, citing conflicts between federal and state laws, has banned I-502-type marijuana operations in unincorporated areas of the county until Congress removes marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances. Inconsistencies between marijuana laws and concerns about I-502/s lack of revenue sharing with municipalities also prompted the Puyallup City Council in December to prohibit all retail pot businesses in that city.
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