By Doug Petrowski
The Mountlake Terrace City Council voted 7-0 Monday night to extend the city’s moratorium on medical cannabis activities through June 15, 2013. Under the moratorium medical cannabis dispensaries and collective gardens continue to be prohibited in Mountlake Terrace.
The city has had a moratorium on medical cannabis activities since April 2011. This is the fifth extension of the ordinance.
While city officials have contended that more study has been needed before local regulations concerning the growing and distribution of medical cannabis could be crafted, they now cite the addition of a new state law allowing possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational purposes as clouding the issue.
“I think the city is doing the right thing by extending the moratorium,” said Mayor Pro Tem Laura Sonmore at Monday’s city council meeting.
Sonmore also addressed the passage of I-502 by voters in November. “Sometimes I wonder if the citizens really knew what they were voting for when this went into play because there’s a lot of unknown territory,” she said. “We need to have a moratorium until we understand what’s going on.”
City officials note that the medical cannabis moratorium does not affect the legal use of cannabis in Mountlake Terrace, only that it prohibits the creation of medical dispensaries and collective gardens in the city at this time.
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