5/8/12 BOCC MEETING REPORT

TOM'S TALES OF THE BOCC

Submitted to Shelton Blog by Tom Davis Mason County Progressive

There were no head-shaking action items and only one Public Hearing on the agenda at the Tuesday, May 8, Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting, so this report will be short and sweet (okay, maybe just short).

9.1 Public Hearing to consider adoption of amendments to Title 17 of the Mason County Code pertaining to the zoning of Collective Gardens (medical cannabis) or extend the current Moratorium for six months and to expire on November 16, 2012.

Background:

RCW 69.51A Medical Cannabis allows, in part, qualifying patients to create and participate in “collective gardens” (RCW 69.51A.085). Collective gardens “means qualifying patients sharing responsibility for acquiring and supplying the resources required to produce and process cannabis for medical use such as, for example, a location for a collective garden; equipment, supplies, and labor necessary to plant, grow, and harvest cannabis; cannabis plants, seeds, and cuttings; and equipment, supplies, and labor necessary for proper construction, plumbing, wiring, and ventilation of a garden of cannabis plants. Amendments to RCW 69.51A also provide that Counties can adopt and enforce zoning regulations pertaining to the dispensing of cannabis in their jurisdiction (RCW 69.51A.140).

Mason County is currently under a Moratorium to expire on May 16, 2012 while zoning regulations are considered. Amendments to Title 17 regulating the location of collective gardens are now ready for consideration by the Board of County Commissioners. The Moratorium will expire on May 16, 2012 unless extended by the Board.”

Here’s what happened:

In what is best described as a whimsical approach to the conundrum of medical marijuana, Commissioners sought to tie the dispensing of pot (illegal at both Federal and State levels) to the collective gardening operation (Illegal at the Federal level, but legal in WA State, and about 23 other States). Unfortunately for them, that flight of fantasy never got off the ground.

Hail Mary passes aside, the County is stuck between a rock and a hard place: if they adopt regulations aimed at collective gardens it looks like they’re condoning, if not encouraging, the use of a controlled substance. But if they fail to enact regulations, they lose regulatory authority over collective gardens.

Okay, it’s a tough call, but making no call is like hearing a burglar rummaging around your home and pulling the covers over your head. In the end, the BOCC did what it does best: nothing. And by nothing, I mean they extended the moratorium on collective gardens another six months, now to expire Nov, 16th. As is often the case, Mason County resists the inevitable till such time as the path is made clear by the wheel ruts of others.

There was no Port of Shelton Commission Meeting scheduled, so there was no need to visit the Martini Bar (Drat!). The next Port meeting is May 15th. Next BOCC meeting is May 22 (the May 15th meeting was cancelled because all of our Commissioners have something more important to do).

Later…