MARYSVILLE POT DISPENSARY PINS HOPES ON APPEAL

MARYSVILLE -- Those who run a medical marijuana dispensary here have
one more chance to convince city officials to let them operate in
Marysville.

Elevated Medical Treatment, which began operating out of a house on
Smokey Point Boulevard in March and later voluntarily shut down, was
denied a business license by the city in May. The group has filed an
appeal with the city's hearing examiner.

A public hearing on the matter is scheduled for 9 a.m. today at City
Hall, 1049 State Ave. The hearing examiner is expected to make a
decision at the meeting, city administrator Gloria Hirashima said.

If the hearing examiner rules against the appeal, the group would
have to take its case to Snohomish County Superior Court to try to
reverse the decision.

Medicinal pot dispensaries are illegal in Washington state. Marijuana
was made legal for medical use in the state by initiative in 1998,
but it must be grown by the user or a designated provider. That
provider must be an individual, not a group, and may provide only to
one person.

It was on those grounds that the city denied the group's business
license application, Hirashima said.

"It was a pretty straightforward decision," she said.

Those who run Elevated Medical Treatment did not return phone calls
seeking comment on Tuesday.

The group is registered with the state as a nonprofit organization.
On its business license application in March, it listed its intended
service as "holistic, herbal, alternative, organic remedies." The
application did not mention marijuana.

The organization's website, www.elevatedmedical treatment.com,
describes the group as a "legal provider of medical cannabis in North
Snohomish, Skagit, Island, and Whatcom counties," and lists suggested
donations of up to $350 per ounce.

In a letter explaining the city's denial of the business application,
Hirashima said city officials visited the operation in late April and
saw marijuana being distributed.

Michael Reid, a Seattle attorney representing the group, in April
readily referred to the Marysville operation as a dispensary, but
described it as "de facto" legal.

"If everybody treats it as legal, it is indeed legal," he said at the
time.

Following publicity about the operation in April, the group agreed to
shut down operations until legal issues with the city are decided.