Council Legislation

Ordinance No. 2015-27s

Title: An Ordinance of the Pierce County Council Related to Marijuana Production, Processing, and Retail Sales Pursuant to Initiative 502 and Subsequent Amendments; Amending Section 18A.12.020 of the Pierce County Code, "State-Licensed Facilities," to Remove Federal Government Authorization as a Condition of Approval for a Marijuana-Licensed Business; Removing a Requirement Limiting Marijuana Retail Sales to Detached Buildings"; Calling for an Advisory Ballot Proposition to Be Placed before the Voters of Pierce County Residing in the Unincorporated Area at the April 26, 2016, Election Concerning whether Marijuana Production, Processing and Retail Sales Should be Allowed within the Unincorporated Area of Pierce County; and Setting an Effective Date.

Effective: January 7, 2016

Status: Passed

Sponsors: Councilmembers Derek Young, Connie Ladenburg, Rick Talbert

Final votes

December 15, 2015
Nay Nay Nay Aye Aye Aye Aye


Documents
Additional legislative records are available below Collapse All  Expand All
 

Public Comments

Name Date Comment
Sara Thompson 10/14/15 2:12 PM What a sensible ordinance. I agree with the increased regulation of medical marijuana, but I also think it needs to be accessible to those who need it. Having a 502 store on the Key Peninsula is the right thing for our community.
Demaris Hendrix 10/16/15 11:11 AM The citizens of Pierce County voted overwhelmingly for legal marijuana and their votes should matter. We need to allow licensed production of marijuana. This will create jobs and provide $ by taxes. We want to provide legal marijuana to the people of this state.
kathy hartwell 10/25/15 8:52 PM Yes, please allow recreational marijuana sales in unincorporated Pierce County.
Walt Kellcy 10/27/15 1:07 PM I am opposed to the proposal of this Ordinance. As a school board member and a local pastor, I can see where some on the council might be economically motivated to approve this proposal but I believe this is not in the best interest of our communities or our schools. The increased accessibility of any drugs is only exasperates student attendance and academic performance issues. I do not believe the economic benefits outweigh the overall health of our society. We already have too many youth and adults with drug problems. This is only going to heighten the need for more social services. Those costs will exceed any short term financial profit. Sincerely Walt Kellcy Jr. Director District One Clover Park School District Pastor, First Baptist Church of Lakewood
Marsha Kremen 11/5/15 9:07 AM I strongly urge you to support this proposal. The citizens of the State of Washington voted to allow the use of recreational marijuana in addition to previous legislation to allow the use of medical marijuana. If marijuana is banned in Pierce County people who use it for medical purposes will have to travel outside the county for their medication. In addition, this will impact local small businesses and will drive the marijuana trade underground in the county potentially opening things to a criminal element. Thank you for all that you do.
Bill Coughlin 11/10/15 8:59 AM I believe that with a current moratorium in Gig Harbor that patients need an local option to acquire their medicine. Therefore I support this proposal and also support allowing retailers to operate in the Rural Activity zones. Thank you.
Evelyn Bowen-Crawford 12/8/15 1:47 PM As a Mental Health Professional, Chemical Dependency Professional and family member of a person struggling with mental illness, I implore you to reconsider: In the United States statistics show that in 2010, 51% of 16-24 year olds used marijuana (27% of 12th graders). I'm sure that the number is much higher now, especially in Washington state. In Pierce County roughly 14% of the population is 16-24 years old. That would mean that in Pierce county approximately 5,9399 young people use marijuana. Studies indicate that using marijuana doubles the chance of being diagnosed with schizophrenia.a.[Source: http://healthgrades.mm-health.com/schizophrenia/the-marijuana-schizophrenia-link, citing “Faculty of the Harvard Medical School, excerpted from a Harvard Special Health Report”, April 2010.] If 1 % of the general population would be diagnosed with schizophrenia, then 2% of those who use marijuana would be diagnosed with schizophrenia; that is 594 more individuals in Pierce County being diagnosed with schizophrenia after using marijuana. This diagnosis affects not only individuals, but devastates families and costs the community. In addition, approximately 4% of our population are diagnosed with a severe mental illness. Marijuana use is particularly detrimental by increasing symptoms of illness and reduces the chance of complying with treatment and engaging in recovery. It is our public duty to provide warnings of the risks of using recreational or medical marijuana.
Richard D. Thurston 12/13/15 3:23 PM I am reluctantly supporting this proposal because I believe it offers the only feasible way to control the sale and distribution of marijuana. The ban now in place has failed and we now have dozens of illegal and semi-legal marijuana businesses in place in Pierce County. We can't control them for lack of resources. If we pass this proposal, we will get help from the State of Washington and will be able to collect taxes that will pay for enforcement personnel to inspect and regulate the limited number of dealers permitted under state law. This would be similar to the provisions now used to regulate the sale of alcohol in the County. it is not a matter of banning an evil drug, but the more practical matter of controlling the damage.