Poulsbo City Council bans recreational marijuana over cost
Jun 18, 2014, 9:18 AM | Updated: 9:42 am
The Poulsbo City Council says their reason for banning recreational marijuana businesses is not about moral issues, it's about economics. (AP Photo/file)
(AP Photo/file)
The Poulsbo City Council is the latest to vote to ban recreational marijuana businesses within its borders. But unlike Marysville, where the council unanimously voted to reject the will of the voters on moral grounds, Poulsbo’s decision had nothing to do with their personal objection to smoking pot.
Poulsbo City Councilmemember Ed Stern spoke to KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz.
“Marijuana touches everyone’s nerves wherever they see fit,” said Stern. “It could be a moral issue. It could be one of concern about it being a gateway drug. That wasn’t ultimately the question that was before the council.”
Poulsbo’s decision was an based on economics, Stern explained. The majority of Poulsbo voted for legalization. But Stern said the state’s plan to carry out Initiative 502 was not what they signed up for.
“We’re actually trying to carry out the will of the voters and ensure that the institution of recreational businesses as well as medical marijuana is carried out in a fully intended way,” said Stern. “Where we ran into a problem was in carrying out the will of the voters, the state legislature undercut us, and that is unprecedented. We’re one of the few cities that are not standing still to be rolled over by the state legislature.”
For Stern, there’s no financial incentive for Poulsbo to permit new retailers.
“The legislature probably in response to the recession, I can’t read their minds, decided to keep 100 percent of the excise tax associated with the legalization of marijuana for itself at the state level,” he said.
The city would receive some tax revenue, but not nearly enough to deal with the bureaucracy involved in regulating both the sellers and the buyers.
“That state sales tax at least in the city of Poulsbo is now 8.7 percent. Of that, the city collects only 2.2 percent and we say that is too, too little to carry out the will of the voters to make sure that they’re full intent, which includes the regulation of recreational marijuana and medical marijuana, the permitting process, the inspection, the policing, which is as much to protect the retailers and the producers as it is the customers in this new business model,” said Stern. “We’re unable to carry those costs out.”
Sterns said the sales tax revenue for the town will be miniscule compared to costs.
