VOTING FOR LEGALIZED POT WOULD COST TAXPAYERS

In this upcoming election, the citizens of Hailey will be able to
vote on four initiatives proposed by the Liberty Lobby, a group led
by Ryan Davidson of Garden City, Idaho. Any initiative passed by the
voters will become the law of the city of Hailey. The four
initiatives are entitled The Hailey Industrial Hemp Act, The Hailey
Lowest Police Priority Act, The Hailey Medical Marijuana Act and The
Hailey Cannabis Regulation and Revenue Ordinance. I will not debate
whether marijuana or hemp should be legalized. But as the Hailey
city attorney, I just want the voters to be aware of the potential
financial costs of these measures.

State and federal laws prohibit the use, possession and distribution
of marijuana and hemp. Any local law, such as an initiative adopted
by the voters, will be subject to a challenge that the local law is
pre-empted by either state or federal law. The courts have clearly
decided that a municipal law pre-empted by state or federal law is
unconstitutional and invalid. If any or all of these four
initiatives are passed by the voters, then I would expect a court
challenge. The defense of any of these initiatives would subject
Hailey taxpayers to potentially significant attorney fees and costs.

Mr. Davidson presently has two lawsuits pending against Hailey. The
first lawsuit, filed in December 2004, seeks $44,000 in alleged
damages in federal court because Mr. Davidson claims he did not
receive promised compensation from a marijuana advocate group. The
second lawsuit, filed in September 2007, seeks to declare portions
of Hailey's Initiative Ordinance unconstitutional and to declare
actions of the city clerk unlawful. Even after Mr. Davidson was
successful in securing 17 signatures on his initiatives,
Mr. Davidson is still pursuing the second lawsuit. In the second
lawsuit, Mr. Davidson has announced his intention to "circulate
other petitions in Hailey, as well as in other cities (particularly
in Blaine County) that have identical initiative processes." When
you vote on these measures, please consider that Hailey taxpayers
may be paying the price for these and other proposed measures.