CITY ATTORNEY CALLS FOR PLAN ON CASTLE ROCK MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

CASTLE ROCK -- The city needs to plan now how to deal with medical
marijuana dispensaries because it's likely they will become legal next
year, the city attorney told the City Council Monday.

Legislation to legalize medical marijuana dispensaries failed this
year, but likely to pass next year, City Attorney Frank Randolph told
the City Council Monday. That means the city needs to start working so
its ready to control dispensaries, he said.

Two people have applied to open dispensaries in town. If the bill to
legalize them had passed, the city wouldn't have had any option but to
approve the business license applications, Randolph said.

(One of those applicants, The Healing Hand of God patient resource
clinic, has opened a clinic where a doctor is writing medical
marijuana "recommendations" for patients. However, marijuana is not
distributed there.)

There's now time to discuss options, hear from the public and decide
if the city wants to take a stand one way or the other, Randolph told
the council. It's possible new legislation will leave decisions about
dispensaries to cities, so it's even more important the council have a
clear plan, he said.

"We've got June to December to figure out what we want to do,"
Randolph said.

He said there several options to consider:

* Do nothing and wait for state legislation

* Take a city advisory vote on the matter, like one taken in Castle
Rock, Colo. About 72 percent of those residents opposed a dispensary.

* Prohibit dispensaries in the city's zoning regulations, which
would allow the city to enact a six-month moratorium on any new
dispensaries if a state law is passed.

* Enact laws prohibiting dispensaries, as some other Washington
jurisdictions already have done.

The Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments is checking with all
local jurisdictions to see what their plans and existing laws are.
Once that information is gathered, Mayor Paul Helenberg said the
council will hold a workshop meeting to discuss the city's options. A
date has not yet been set.

"We need to get the facts and then figure out where we want to go," he
said.