Medical & Recreational Marijuana in Washington State North Dakota Association of Counties Conference October 9, 2017

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Medical & Recreational Marijuana in Washington State North Dakota Association of Counties Conference October 9, 2017"

Rodney Evans
6 years ago
Views:

1 Medical & Recreational Marijuana in Washington State North Dakota Association of Counties Conference October 9, 2017 Axel Swanson Director of Research (360)

2 Disclaimers I am not an attorney I am not here to advocate for or against marijuana legalization I reserve the right to be wrong 2

3 Who are we: 39 Counties 32 Commission Form 7 Home Rule Charter Form 3

4 Washington counties are diverse King County has approximately 2 million residents, a $4.5 billion dollar annual budget, and 12,997 FTEs. Garfield County has approximately 2,200 residents and a $16 million dollar annual budget. Our GF revenue is primarily property & sales tax Property tax has been capped at 1% growth since

5 So Lets talk about recreational & medical marijuana 5

6 A few big picture items Marijuana is still illegal under the Federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970; however Medical marijuana use is now allowed in 29 states; and Recreational marijuana is allowed in seven states and the District of Columbia 6

7 Lets start at the end What s going on today with marijuana in Washington state? 7

8 Producers/Processors (Approx. 1361) 8

9 Retail locations (Approx. 516) 9

10 Sales & revenue Approximately $120,000,000 in sales every month Approximately $27,000,000 in Excise Tax every month (this does not include state & local sales tax) Tax revenue estimated to reach $730,000,000 in budget cycle Very little of this revenue comes back to local government 10

11 So how did we get here? Lets go back to the beginning Initiative 692 (1998) 11

12 History of medical marijuana in Washington ( ) In 1998, voters approved Initiative 692, the Medical Use of Marijuana Act, by 59%. The Act: Created an affirmative defense against criminal charges for qualifying patients and their designated providers Allowed patients and providers to have no more than a 60-day supply Identified qualifying medical conditions In 2007 and 2010 the legislature amended the Act to: Broaden it to include a variety of health care professionals Identified additional qualifying medical conditions Define 60-day supply 12

13 History of medical marijuana continued In 2009, the Ogden memo changes the federal government s enforcement policy as it relates to medical marijuana patients use of marijuana within the frame work of a well regulated state program. In 2011, SB 5073 passed the legislature. A partial Governor s veto eliminated much of the bill having to do with state involved regulation of medical marijuana, including dispensaries and a patient registry. The reasoning for the Governor s veto was very important. Governor Gregoire was concerned state workers could be prosecuted under federal law. The remaining law: allowed for Collective Gardens: 10 patients, 45 plants, 72 ounces, at any time. This changed everything 13

14 Local reaction/regulation Not much regulation 2011 SB 5073 & Collective Gardens Moratoriums Zoning Bans No action Lawsuits 14

15 Enter recreational marijuana In 2012, voters approved Initiative 502, legalizing recreational marijuana, by 56%. The initiative not only legalized recreational use of marijuana for adults age 21 and above, but it also set up the structure for regulating production, processing, and distribution of it as well. The new law outlined how marijuana would be taxed and where that revenue would go. The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board was task with much of the work, but the Department of Revenue, Department of Health and many local jurisdictions were also impacted as well. 15

16 Recreational marijuana continued In 2013, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Cole issued a Memo to federal U.S. Attorneys General providing guidance regarding marijuana enforcement: Prevent distribution of cannabis to minors Prevent cannabis revenue from funding criminal enterprises, gangs or cartels Prevent cannabis from moving out of states where it is legal Prevent use of state-legal cannabis sales as a cover for illegal activity Prevent violence and use of firearms in growing or distributing cannabis Prevent drugged driving or exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with cannabis use Prevent growing cannabis on public lands Prevent cannabis possession or use on federal property (national parks, government property, etc.) In jurisdictions that have enacted laws legalizing marijuana in some form and that have also implemented strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems to control the cultivation, distribution, sale, and possession of marijuana, conduct in compliance with those regulations is less likely to threaten the federal priorities set forth above. 16

17 Local reaction/regulation WSLCB Licensing/Lottery Local notification from (WSLCB) required Attorney General s Opinion (2014) Law Suits Moratoriums, Bans, Zoning, No action 17

18 The alignment of medical and recreational marijuana In 2015, SB 5052 was passed and harmonized recreational and medical marijuana laws. The law: Repealed collective gardens (Requires licensing process through WSLCB) Created a patient registry Continued to allow home grows for patients Required lab testing of products and gives tax breaks for medical marijuana 18

19 Current Developments WSLCB Home Grows Study (2017) Three options Marijuana as agriculture? Right to Farm nuisance protection Tax exemptions 19

20 North Dakota Century Code Chapter Medical Marijuana Compassion centers-application. d. The physical address of the proposed location of the proposed compassion center and: (1) Evidence of approval from local officials as to the proposed compassion center applicant s compliance with local zoning laws for the physical address to be used by the proposed compassion center; and (2) Evidence the physical address of the proposed compassion center is not located within one thousand feet of a property line of a pre-existing public or private school. 20

21 Lessons Learned from Washington The state process and timing is important for counties updating their zoning codes -Will you have time to update your code before applications are reviewed and approved? If not, how will an application be complete? Will this create conflict? -How will the state respond to your and concerns if you have them? comments 21

22 Lessons learned continued Expect some code enforcement issues to arise and some citizens to be upset. Inevitably, a compassion center is going to be proposed somewhere that creates conflict in the community Expect some employee/employment related questions Things will continue to change (Grow-your-own? More Compassion Centers needed? Recreational?) If they do continue to change, how will you work through the process and impact? Will there be revenue sharing with the state? 22

23 QUESTIONS? Axel Swanson Director of Research (360)

CONTROL, REGULATION, AND TAXATION OF MARIJUANA AND INDUSTRIAL HEMP ACT PRESENTATION TO LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON OLCC 11/19/14

CONTROL, REGULATION, AND TAXATION OF MARIJUANA AND INDUSTRIAL HEMP ACT PRESENTATION TO LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON OLCC 11/19/14 1 THE BASICS Measure 91 was approved by the voters on Nov. 4. The act is modeled