cannabisnews.com: Seattle Passes Rules for Marijuana Providers function share_this(num) { tit=encodeURIComponent('Seattle Passes Rules for Marijuana Providers'); url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/26/thread26664.shtml'); site = new Array(5); site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit; site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit; window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500'); return false; } Seattle Passes Rules for Marijuana Providers Posted by CN Staff on July 18, 2011 at 16:02:21 PT By The Seattle Times Staff Source: Seattle Times Washington -- The Seattle City Council on Monday passed rules governing medical-marijuana operations, requiring they get a city business license and comply with city land-use, fire-safety and other rules.The ordinance, passed unanimously with Councilmember Nick Licata absent, will take effect 30 days after being signed by Mayor Mike McGinn, who has been supportive of medical-marijuana law. The ordinance comes as the state's 13-year-old, voter-approved medical-marijuana law is dramatically changing on July 22, due to Gov. Chris Gregoire's partial veto in May of a proposed landmark bill that would have legalized and regulated dispensaries and grow farms.Her veto made dispensaries, which have boomed throughout the state in the past two years, clearly illegal. But she also authorized new 45-plant "collective gardens" for up to 10 patients at a time, clearly establishing for the first time a right for patients to band together in growing collectives."While the Washington state legislature attempted to clear up language regarding dispensing medical marijuana, the Council and City Attorney Pete Holmes felt more needed to be done at the local level," bill sponsor Licata said in a news release. "This ordinance recognizes the continued federal prohibition against marijuana but explains the rules with which businesses must still comply."More than four dozen dispensaries have Seattle business licenses, with at least a dozen more that are underground, according to city staff.Over the next several months, Seattle will consider further regulation, including possible zoning restrictions that could channel collective gardens — particularly larger-scale, multigarden operations — into commercial or industrial zones, City Councilmember Sally Clark said earlier this month. Staffers were researching current zoning rules for gardens, farms and pharmacies.After Gregoire's veto forced municipalities to act, most regional cities took the opposite approach to Seattle by banning or halting new medical-marijuana operations.In the past month alone, Issaquah, North Bend, Snohomish and Kent passed moratoriums, joining a long list that includes Shoreline, Federal Way, Edmonds and others that cracked down.Information from The Seattle Times archives is included in this report.Source: Seattle Times (WA)Published: July 18, 2011Copyright: 2011 The Seattle Times CompanyContact: opinion seatimes.comWebsite: http://www.seattletimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/NDJ26WiGCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by FoM on July 18, 2011 at 16:44:21 PT Seattle To License, Tax Medical Marijuana Gardens July 18, 2011 Seattle (AP) -- The Seattle City Council has unanimously passed rules requiring that medical marijuana operations be licensed and taxed, and a spokesman for Mayor Mike McGinn says he expects to sign the measure soon.The unanimous vote Monday requires that marijuana gardens follow all city business laws, such as land use and historic preservation codes. The measure is a response to Gov. Chris Gregoire's partial veto of a bill that would have created a system of licensed marijuana dispensaries.The veto eliminated a gray area that allowed dispensaries to sell marijuana to qualifying patients, but the governor left in sections that allow for community gardens covering up to 10 patients and 45 plants.Some medical marijuana proponents praised the city's action, but medical marijuana attorney Douglas Hiatt said he'll sue to block it. He says marijuana remains illegal under both federal and state law, and the city does not have authority to regulate an illegal substance.Copyright: 2011 The Associated Press [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 18, 2011 at 16:25:03 PT Seattle Passes Bill Regulating Medical Pot Shops July 18, 2011Washington -- Setting up a possible confrontation with the federal government, the City Council on Monday passed a new law that establishes a regulatory framework for the growing number of medical marijuana dispensaries in Seattle.The City Council unanimously passed its own ordinance because efforts to address medical marijuana, which is legal in Washington, foundered earlier this year in Olympia.URL: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Seattle-passes-bill-regulating-medical-pot-shops-1471271.php [ Post Comment ] Post Comment