GROUP SEEKS TO BLOCK POT PARLORS

The Albany Downtown Association has asked for an "emergency
moratorium" on pot-smoking parlors in the city.

"Naturally we are interested in keeping our historic downtown vital
and healthy," Executive Director Oscar Hult wrote in a letter to Mayor
Sharon Konopa on Monday.

"Many other cities have had problems with these establishments and
have had to delve into crafting regulation after the fact. We are
asking that the council be proactive and have staff develop these
regulations now."

Hult asked for "an emergency moratorium on these kinds of businesses
until it is known whether or not they violate state or federal law,
and until such time as appropriate regulations can be developed."

The mayor mentioned Hult's letter to the city council at a work
session Monday afternoon, but councilors voiced no immediate request
for an ordinance to be drafted.

Before the city can regulate anything, it has to know what it is, City
Attorney Jim Delapoer observed. And the law allows no buying or
selling of marijuana, medical or otherwise, he noted.

Hult said Tuesday that while Oregon "dispensaries" are not allowed to
sell pot, people can donate and dispense it to medical-card holders.

According to Hult, someone had looked into opening such a place on
Second Avenue downtown but then preferred a location on Fescue Street
near Home Depot.

In April, a couple reportedly opened a "patient resource center" for
medical pot users on Ehlen Drive near Oakville Road and Highway 34. It
was described as a place where medical marijuana users could bring
their smokes and get together in a social atmosphere over snacks and
soft drinks.

Last week, U.S. Attorney for Oregon Dwight C. Holton and other law
enforcement leaders issued a public notice reminding people that the
selling of marijuana is against state and federal law. Under Oregon
law, medical pot users have to grow their own or get it free from
someone growing it for them.

On Tuesday, based on a complaint from the public, the Linn County
Board of Commissioners asked Planning and Building Director Robert
Wheeldon to determine if the patient resource center on Ehlen Drive
meets the criteria of Urban Development II zoning.

Wheeldon said his office had not been contacted by anyone from the
center prior to its opening. His staff is going to determine if the
operation meets rural property guidelines.