NO POT IN PUBLIC

Belgrade OKs First Reading Of Ordinance; Sets Public Hearing For Sept. 7

With no fanfare Monday, the Belgrade City Council unanimously
approved an ordinance that would ban public use of medical marijuana.

The ordinance was written at the request of the Belgrade Police
Department, City Manager Joe Menicucci said. Chief of Police E.J.
Clark did not attend Monday's meeting, but has said the goal of the
ordinance is to keep use of marijuana out of public areas and in private homes.

If approved, the ordinance would ban smoking marijuana from pubic
parks and buildings, as well as streets, sidewalks, alleys and other
public rights of way, according to city records. But smokers of the
drug also can't consume marijuana on private property if they can be
seen -- or smelled -- from public rights of way.

In other words, if someone is walking down a sidewalk and spots a
medical marijuana patient puffing on a pipe in a backyard, the user
is in violation of the ordinance.

"... The city council intends the phrase 'open or visible manner' to
include, but not be limited to, visual or sensory observations either
during the act or within a reasonable time thereafter," according to
the ordinance.

If the ordinance passes after a public hearing next month, violations
will be considered misdemeanors, punishable by fines of up to $1,000
and/or jail terms of up to six months.

Clark has said the ordinance was patterned after an open container
law already on the books.

A public hearing on the measure is set for Sept. 7. The ordinance is
available for public viewing at City Hall, 91 E. Central Ave.