News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters is taking the first tentative steps toward allowing commerce in recreational marijuana inside the city.
The Sisters City Council agreed in a workshop on Wednesday evening to explore what regulated commerce in marijuana might look like here. The City's business license currently does not allow for medical or recreational marijuana production or sales. That would have to change, and the City Council would also need to adopt regulations regarding time, place and manner (TPM) of marijuana production, processing and/or distribution. The City will also probably have to change its Development Code to account for cannabis-related activities.
The Council is poised to undertake a series of workshops on the subject, some of which will likely invite testimony from the public.
Erin Herburger, who owns and operates Cascade Trailstop Market in Sisters with her husband, Drew, told the Council, "I see the benefits of allowing these sales as glaringly obvious."
She noted that revenue from taxes on marijuana sales support a variety of public services, and that many people in Sisters drive to Bend to obtain marijuana. She believes that a local dispensary would have benefits - and that protocols are in place to prevent sales to minors.
"The need is there, and my input is to keep it local," she said.
In 2014, voters in Sisters rejected a measure that would have allowed medical marijuana in Sisters. However, in 2015, voters in the City precinct showed a 51 percent approval of the state measure legalizing medical marijuana, according to City Manager Brant Kucera.
"I think the tide has shifted to a higher percentage of acceptance from four years ago," said Council President Nancy Connolly.
Connolly said she surveyed about 30 local residents of varying demographics, and found the large majority in favor of allowing some form of regulated commerce.
The shape that commerce would take can be regulated by the time, place and manner rules the City Council will establish. Those rules can regulate location, hours of operation and the manner of operation and/or public access.
City Attorney Jeremy Green said he can provide TMP guidelines from the state and from other cities in Oregon and then the Council can refine them and tailor them to suit Sisters' particular needs.
"What's good for Bend is not necessarily good for Sisters," he said. "I really don't want to presuppose what's going to work for you guys."
Councilor Andrea Blum said that she is setting aside any personal biases she might have and looking at cannabis as an agricultural product. She sees a dispensary as a "market" analogous to a food stand or shop.
"Processors I looked at (as) that's the cannery," she said. She is not certain that processing is appropriate for Sisters, and if so it would fit best in the industrial park. She requested a map that would lay out what might go where.
State law allows cities to impose a tax of up to 3 percent on marijuana retailers. Such a tax would have to be approved by voters in a general election - possibly in November.
City Manager Kucera recommended that the City Council seek the full amount.
"I would recommend that you put 3 percent on ballot," he said. "It will easily pass. Don't shortchange yourself; this is a new revenue source for us."
The City Council will hold another workshop on the subject on Wednesday, February 14, at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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