Seattle City Council Unanimously Passes Measure to Shutdown Most Dispensaries
A proposal to shutdown over half of the medical cannabis dispensaries located in Seattle has been unanimously approved by the city’s council. The measure, which was put forth by Mayor Ed Murray, will go into effect 30 days after he signs it.
Under the new law, any medical cannabis dispensary that opened after January 1st, 2013, and those who are distributing medicine to those under 21 (which was made illegal with the recent passage of Senate Bill 5052), will be forced to close their doors by July of next year, without the possibility of receiving a license to continue operating. It’s expected that 59 of the city’s 99 dispensaries will be forced to close.
Those that opened prior to 2013, and who are in good standing, will be allowed to remain open if they receive a license from the state Liquor Control Board (soon to be renamed the Liquor and Cannabis Board).
“This will give the city more authority than in the past to regulate,” says Councilmember Nick Licata, a supporter of the bill.
The vote comes just days after King County’s Sheriff and Prosecutor announced that they’re calling for the immediate closure of all medical cannabis dispensaries in unincorporated King County.
– TheJointBlog
Baruch
“This will give the city more authority than in the past to regulate,” says Councilmember Nick Licata, a supporter of the bill.
And why does the city need more authority to regulate? Is there a problem? Is the city not happy with it’s current cut of the $? Really, I’d like to understand this.
Phil
““This will give the city more authority than in the past to regulate,” says Councilmember Nick Licata, a supporter of the bill.
And why does the city need more authority to regulate? Is there a problem? Is the city not happy with it’s current cut of the $? Really, I’d like to understand this.”
More authority to regulate means more ability to make back room deals with big cannabis money to put in place barriers to entry for small businesses in exchange for political and financial support for elected officials. This is just standard urban corruption with a Seattle flavor.
David
Baruch/ Phil
I read that same quote with a puzzled look on my face. What’s left to regulate LIcata ? The water pressure in the restroom Sinks ? You operate a city comprised of almost one half of the State population, yet your city and it’s citizen’s just got rolled by Tea-Party Republicans hailing from Fly-Speck Washington
Anonymous
You greedy, souless, CIVILIANS are beyond contempt.
moirraine
This is an illegal act and directly against the Washington State Constitution!
SEATTLEITES!!!
TELL YOUR LEADERS THEY ARE BREAKING THE LAWS OF THE STATE!
Article II
Section 19
BILL TO CONTAIN ONE SUBJECT. No bill shall embrace more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title.
TELL THEM TO READ THEIR OWN DANG STATE CONSTITUTION and STOP THIS NOW.
HiVi
The “single subject rule” means that no bill may have attached riders that are unrelated to the main purpose of the bill. How is this in violation of that?
David
HiVi
I suppose 12 men and women will get to decide this matter (or a presiding judge). I hope the entire mess is thrown out of State court and Olympia has to start re-building it’s marijuana laws the way the voter’s intended in 2012. Not this rotten mess.
David
Moraine:
I hope the moment Seattle’s Mayor and the Seattle’s City Council attempt to close a medical dispensary inside of Seattle’s City limits, they are stopped by a legal injunction.
The courts will ultimately decide if Senator Anne River’s (R) La-Center flawed bill (now a State law 5052) was either flawed and therefore harmful to sick medical patients (which we know it is ) or, entirely illegal under Washington’s State Constitution. I don’t think the suits in Olympia have any clue just how angry the public is over their mishandling legalization and medical patients so badly.
Eddie kukas
Greed……….nothing more.
matt
All of you are uneducated in the matter. It’s funny to read these comments. If you want your meds, go to a recreational store. People complain that weed should be legal, then when it becomes legal and it has to regulated( accounted for) people say it’s unlawful. Pick up a book people and stop listening to these so called wannabe lawyers.
matt
All of you are uneducated in the matter. It’s funny to read these comments. If you want your meds, go to a recreational store. People complain that weed should be legal, then when it becomes legal and it has to be regulated( accounted for) people say it’s unlawful. Pick up a book people and stop listening to these so called wannabe lawyers.
David
Matt:
Those ‘wannabe’ lawyer’s ? they’re getting ready to sue the pants off of Washington and Seattle once they actually move their move to actually close down patient access point (medical marijuana dispensaries)
. Are the Rec. stores planning to hand out barf bag’s to cancer patients just coming off of chemo ? I doubt it. They can’t even utter the word /medical” inside of their stores. Why would I want to trust my health to a person who can’t even say the word ‘medical” to me ? Would you ?
MeMe
Most medical dispensaries are not opposed to being regulated. The problem is being treated fairly in the process. If you go to a recreational shop you will never learn the true benefits of your cannabis. Its not all about getting high and anyone with medical conditions will tell you that. Cannabis education should come first before we fight over tax dollars. This should be about decriminalization and education.
David
MeMe
Agreed. If the State was so worried about the Fed’s intervening (as the Sheriff and District Attorney claim), why didn’t the State simply lower the price through it’s own stores ? Why didn’t they scrap a clearly crooked rigged lottery State? They could have simply allowed those stores already in business and who know their customers to remain in business ?
Lotteries, like those which occurred in Washington, if not stopped, could spell doom for further nation-wide legalization. (hello California, Ohio, Nevada) People have figured this stuff out. They know how rotten it has been up here. I grow weary trying to defend the integrity of Washington voter’s (whom most American’s blame for “screwing legalization up for everyone else)”.
Pick a blog, any blog title with the name Washington in it…….Yikes! The entire rest of America hates Washington State for mishandling legalization so badly. And worse now that Olympia killed off our States only medical marijuana law every patient in America too is angry at Washington. Medical marijuana patients nationwide are watching what happening here and I can assure you that there will be no part Deux. anywhere else (a small silver lining i suppose). Folks just get infuriated when told that Washington State considered it’s sickest medical patients the competition, INSTEAD of the the black-market..
I blame Washington’s LCB for bungling this up so badly. As other States look to legalize the voter’s should ask themselves this : Isn’t one kind of monopolized cartel as bad as another ? I certainly think so and appraently so does most of America.
Shauna Anderson
The City Takes the Medical Marijuana Away; the doctors say no pain pills. What does that leave to eliminate pain? How about Heroin, the new American Drug of Choice. Now that you are hooked on Heroin, your family watches you die a terrible death. The drug can take you or anyone at anytime. If you are lucky, you find recovery, with a possibility Of a daily visit, To the Methadone Clinic. Who is paying for recovery? If its not you or your family, it is the tax payers. All this could have been stopped, if they would just leave alone the Medical Pot.
HiVi
The city isn’t taking it away. They’re closing about half of the medical dispensaries that are currently open. Any that opened prior to Jan 1, 2013 are still going to exist and will still be able to sell to medical patients.
David
HIvI
Yeah right, coming from the same folks who duped us voter’s into voting yes on I-502 . That voting yes wouldn’t change anything in Washington’s 1998 State medical law (RCW51.69A )……… Fast forward June 2015.
1998’s RCW51.69A has now been killed-off by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor.
Unless you’ve got some skin in the I-502 scam I don’t understand why anyone would support it or the worse Bill SB 5052 which leaves every Washington State medical Marijuana patient exposed to the federal government. Patients would have been better with no law than this one.
Following Mayor Murray’s announcement, coupled with the City Council vote to close down Seattle’s medical dispensaries here’s the goal
1). Pass a fake medical marijuana Bill so awful no patients can or will use it and they pay 47% more.
2) re-criminalize medical felonies so property and cash (asset) forfeitures can now resume full throttle
3). patients unable to aquire medicine leave for another more progressive marijuana State.
4), The patients die and who cares in Olympia or Fly-speck Washington where the majority of these Elmer Fudd’s live.
Michelle Oehlert
I actually expected to read about this,they make us think we have our total freedom and then they decide that too many people are making money off of people actually healing and they are proably seeing a drop in the pharmaceutical industry in Washington and they feel intimidated and will always do whatever it takes to survive. This is a violation of human right to VERY good medical care and not to suffer. This needs to be reversed!!! When is a revolution going to happen? When do we get to be free?????
Chunkybob
it looks like they are shutting down despenceries that are selling to under 21 whats wrong with that recreational is better
David
Chunkybob:
….some one passed you incorrect intel. No it was the States new hallmark recreational stores that got busted selling to minor’s. An almost 20% failure rate to check ID’s on minor’s entering rec. stores. Plus. THEY TIPPED-OFF IN ADVANCE….. 3 day’s before the stings occurred. This is why Seattle residents like myself question the motives for Seattle dispensary closures. And the State is about to be sued for destroying Washington’s Medical marijuana law and patient access points (dispensaries)
David
Well at least Hawaii’s getting ready to open dispensaries on the islands. Whats cool is their law will be reciprocal with other State medical marijuana law. (excluding Washington where the State Senate Republican’s just destroyed our States 1998 medical marijuana law. Yeah !! recreational marijuana’s legal ……oh but wait, it’s now a felony with fines and prison time to share a joint, or give simply give some away to help a sick friend. Olympia is despicable.
David
Well at least Hawaii’s getting ready to open dispensaries on the islands. Whats cool is their law will be reciprocal with other State medical marijuana law. (excluding Washington where the State Senate Republican’s just destroyed our States 1998 medical marijuana law. Yeah !! recreational marijuana’s legal ……oh but wait, it’s now a felony with fines and prison time to share a joint, or give simply give some away to help a sick friend. Olympia is despicable.
David
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Turf-war-over-legal-weed-on-Capitol-Hill-315607671.html?tab=video&c=y
Watch/ Read this about the ‘turf-war” brewing between Seattle’s ” legal” marijuana stores. If you have high blood pressure have your “Nitro” handy. Unregulated “medical marijuana dispensaries” (recently made illegal ) by the Political establishment in Olympia clearly defying the will of Washington’s voter’s in 2012. Washington’s legsilature couldn’t regulate lemonade stands operated by 8 year old’s without it turning vicious mean and ugly. Give me a peaceful medical dispensary any day to this bunch !!!