Spokane Valley sets hearing on pot moratorium

The Spokane Valley City Council is hosting a public hearing on marijuana regulations during its meeting Tuesday.

Citing a public health crisis, the City Council enacted an emergency moratorium on unlicensed marijuana businesses in December.

And now Spokane Valley is looking for input from its residents on how to regulate marijuana.

“We are looking at a temporary stop for new marijuana-related businesses, while we have a chance to develop regulations,” said city attorney Eric Lamb. “This is not a statement about whether marijuana is good or bad.” The moratorium does not impact existing marijuana businesses in Spokane Valley.

Lamb said when Initiative 502 passed legalizing recreational marijuana, there were many regulatory issues that were not addressed.

“We have reason to believe that stronger state regulation is forthcoming,” Lamb said, explaining that several bills are working their way through the state Legislature.

Before the temporary moratorium, Lamb said, all that was required to open a smoking lounge or medical marijuana shop in Spokane Valley was a business license.

The state granted three licenses for recreational marijuana shops in Spokane Valley, and there are about 10 medical marijuana shops.

The so-called 502 shops are licensed through the liquor control board, regulated by the state and must comply with buffer zones near parks and libraries, and they are required to have security cameras and closely track every ounce of marijuana they sell.

Initiative 502 taxes each level of business – the marijuana grower, the processor and the retailer – by 25 percent.

“That money goes to the state,” Lamb said. “We don’t get any of that to deal with the DUIs and regulatory issues we have.”

Medical marijuana is not taxed.

Marijuana is a hot-button issue in Spokane Valley. City council member Ed Pace has been vocal in his opposition to the shops and the lounges, and there’s a neighborhood group that’s working to ban marijuana in Spokane Valley.

At last week’s council meeting, councilmember Chuck Hafner said he’d organize a meeting with high school principals and the police department to find out what the impact of legalizing marijuana is in the schools.

Hafner said he’s been told an increasing number of students show up high.

Spokane Valley Police Chief Rick VanLeuven has told the council several times that his officers are getting more marijuana-related calls and stopping more drivers who have smoked marijuana.

Lamb said many municipalities are dealing with the same issues as Spokane Valley. Statewide, 60 cities and counties have adopted moratoriums and 47 have banned recreational marijuana companies within their jurisdictions.

“We just need a little time to figure out what’s right for us,” Lamb said.