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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 23, 2018)
2 Wednesday, May 23, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O N CANNABISb—b yesborbno? By David A. Asson Guest Columnist Honoring those who died defending our FREEDOM & DEMOCRACY LettersbtobthebEditor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writerʼs name, address and phone number. Let- ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. To the Editor: On behalf of the Sisters Park & Recreation District, I want to thank the voters for pass- ing the local option tax levy in last week’s election. With nearly 60 percent of the voters supporting the levy, we are humbled by this outpouring of support. Passage of the levy is the result of years of preparation. Ten years ago, SPRD was faced with significant financial issues and lacked strong community support. Thanks to the con- certed efforts, over the past decade, of board members, staff and a legion of volunteers, SPRD is in position to put the new tax rev- enues to good use. The board understands that it is obliged to use these new funds wisely and as outlined in the levy. We also know that we must continue to look for ways to leverage our tax revenues with grants, fundraising events, partnerships, and volunteers. This week the board, working with a group of citizen volunteers, will begin planning for how to use the additional funds when they become available. On our radar will be low- ering costs for after-school programs, pro- ducing outstanding special events and sports tournaments, broadening the selection of adult programs, better supporting our staff and addressing the backlog of maintenance issues at SPRD headquarters and the adjoining recre- ation facilities. See LETTERS on page 14 SistersbWeatherbForecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Thunderstorms Thunderstorms Showers Partly Cloudy Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny 75/54 76/52 62/42 64/40 71/44 78/47 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Easterling Classifieds & Circulation: Teresa Mahnken Graphic Design: Jess Draper Community Marketing Partners: Patti Jo Beal & Vicki Curlett Accounting: Erin Bordonaro Proofreader: Pete Rathbun Owner: J. Louis Mullen The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $45; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. Published Weekly. ©2018 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as uncondition- ally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. Editor ʼs note: David Asson is a Sisters City Councilor. He notes that all comments in this article are solely his own. Four years ago, in November 2014, Sisters voted narrowly to permit marijuana dispensaries to open for business, as did the entire state of Oregon. Based on unscientific discussions it seems to me that our populace is still almost equally divided on the issue. Marijuana is illegal nationally, but City Council has been informed that Federal law is not expected to be enforced or changed any time soon. We are advised to plan and decide without regard to national possibilities. An initial stop-gap recommen- dation is to adopt TPMs (Time, Place, and Manner regulations) which would allow the City to control hours of operation (Time), permittable locations (Place), and appearance (Manner). Some Oregon jurisdictions are even chal- lenging the vote, i.e. trying to legally disallow dispen- saries. Early results sug- gest that they will not be successful. There is some interest in placing the measure on the November ballot so that the public can have a sec- ond chance to express their view. Although stated as fact, a vote for referral has not yet been taken. I oppose doing so. OLCC has adopted and is enforcing a detailed set of rules intended to track and control the growth, processing, transport, mar- keting, employee training, counter display, safekeeping and assurance of marijuana product quality. I have vis- ited an established dispen- sary and heard or read hours of pro and con testimony. Modern-day shops are not what I visualized months ago. Successful ones will be run by well-informed business people. Some shop operators demonstrate a willingness to assist in establishing acceptable TPMs. An example pro- posed by an owner that I spoke with is to locate shops in a marijuana zone off main street and minimize outside advertising. This would lessen glaring curbside impressions. And, there is evidence that some products do reduce pain and stress. These arguments fail to address the basic core val- ues test that many, includ- ing myself, wish society could embrace. However, it seems that little merit will be given such concern. I urge all to visit an existing shop and ask questions. You may find that stereotypes of past behavior are not as neg- ative under today’s condi- tions as we came to believe. I believe the best course of action is for Council to design appropriate TPMs and vote directly to allow dispensaries to operate in Sisters. My specific reluctance to having a public re-vote is based on unpredictable consequences. To sponsor a second vote fairly, the City would have to edu- cate voters on both sides of the issue. Attempting to inform all with so short a timeline would be formi- dable. I have spent hours in training and am still not solidly convinced of the right thing to do. I sense that permission to oper- ate is the logical outcome, but... Let’s assume the sec- ond vote remains the same. We will have raised some people’s hopes, delayed the process, and made little headway. On the other hand, if the vote turns out negative, i.e. to not allow dispensa- ries, there will be a serious quandary. Council could not then look the public in the eye, say thank you for voting and then declare that dispensaries will be allowed anyway. How would that play? Those opposed may rejoice momentarily think- ing that they succeeded in banning marijuana, while those favoring acceptance engage attorneys to override a dubious reversal. Given results to date the propo- nents would likely win. I pray that Council and Sisters agree to put this dif- ficult issue to rest without further delay. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.