What to do with medical marijuana?

When Governor Christine Gregoire vetoed most of the medical marijuana bill passed by the legislature, she opened up a can of uncertainty that is rippling through every town in the state.

How those cities are dealing with the mess left behind is as varied as opinions on medical marijuana itself.

It’s been no secret that Seattle has no interest in going after marijuana crimes, much less people who produce or distribute medical marijuana for patients. “Prohibition does not work,” Mayor Mike McGinn said while signing Seattle’s new law licensing and regulating medical marijuana operations last month. “It fuels criminal enterprise and helps spark violence,” he said. “This city has made enforcement of marijuana laws for small amounts for personal use our lowest priority.”

The mayor told MyNorthwest.com he had to make a move because the new state law is so vague and confusing, and he wanted to make sure patients in his city could get their medicine.

Cities across the state are in the same boat. Some are going with the Seattle-way, like Mukilteo which is also licensing these businesses. Others like Federal Way, Tacoma, Shoreline and Kent have imposed moratoriums.

Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke says it’s strange for there to be a state law that no one knows how to interpret or implement. “I can’t recall it ever,” she said when talking about being in such a weird position. “The fact that we have police officers out there having to enforce a law that they can’t just say ‘well medical marijuana it’s okay now’ because it isn’t.”

And she’s going to uphold the law which says marijuana is still illegal in Washington and under Federal law. While most cities are promising not to come-down hard on dispensaries or collective gardens as they figure out what to do, Kent is not. It cited three medical marijuana business owners last week, charging them with possession and intent to distribute.

Kent, like many cities imposing moratoriums on medical marijuana businesses, is using the time to craft zoning rules and licensing options because they really don’t know what to do. “We need a breather here to understand what this new law is,” Mayor Cooke said. “Even the Washington State Code Reviser’s Office doesn’t expect it’s interpretation any sooner than possibly the middle of September.”

And only after then will there be some kind of framework on how to deal with the new state law that allows collective gardens of up to 45 plants, but gives no clue to cities or counties on how to manage them.

“Now begins the hard work,” Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said. “Between now and the next session of the Legislature, we’re going to try and show the world that this can be done safely and humanely.”