HAILEY BACKS OFF ON MARIJUANA REFORMS

HAILEY - Three of Hailey's four City Council members voted Monday to
freeze their consideration of three recently passed marijuana reform
acts while the Idaho Attorney General's office forms an opinion on
the legality of the acts.

But all three council members seemed willing to follow the will of
voters, so long as it poses no conflict with their oath to not
violate state laws. In the meantime they are heeding the direction of
the city attorney.

"It is my strong recommendation that we do not pursue an option
tonight," said City Attorney Ned Williamson, who pointed out the
apparent conflict between the state Constitution and the ordinances.

"I think it would be foolish to admit that there are no issues with
the general laws of the state of Idaho," Williamson said. "Hailey has
the right to pass laws but they have to be constitutional."

Williamson said the attorney general's office has begun a review of
the newly passed measures, but he has no idea how long that review will take.

The three measures passed were to legalize medical marijuana, make
enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest police priority, and
legalize industrial hemp. Voters turned down a fourth initiative
that would have legalized marijuana use and required the city to
regulate sales.

A fourth council member, Carol Brown, did not hear Williamson's legal
advice. She left the room, recusing herself from the discussion at
the recommendation of her second employer: the federal government.

All three marijuana reform laws require city officials to advocate
expanding the marijuana reform cause to the state level. But federal
employees are prohibited from political advocacy. Because Brown is
also a federal employee with the U.S. Forest Service, she has been
told to suspend her involvement in the matter.

While ethics officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture decide
whether Brown will have to resign, Councilwoman Martha Burke said she
is dismayed by that possibility. Burke noted more voters elected
Brown for council than voted for the initiatives.

"I don't know how I can reconcile how the Forest Service won't even
let her be in the same room," Burke said. "She has to recuse herself?"

The possible ousting of Brown is likely not an intended consequence
of the vote, Williamson said.

After the attorney general offers an opinion, Williamson said,
council members will have several options. They can simply implement
the three initiatives without making changes. They may amend the acts
to avoid legal conflicts, repeal the acts, or have the city challenge
the law in court.

The first and possibly most contentious initiative, the Hailey
Medical Marijuana Act, would create an ordinance legalizing use and
possession of 35 grams for medicinal purposes. But the courts have
held that state and federal laws, which criminalize marijuana, trump
local ordinances.

A second act aimed at encouraging Hailey police officers to ease up
on pot offenses, might encroach on the administrative autonomy of the
Hailey police and prosecutor. Making laws that control how public
offices are administrated is illegal, according to state law.