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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (May 7, 2014)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, May 7, 2014 Page A-9 Kirchoff at any time. Some residents are concerned that the only possible out- come of the lawsuit will be reversing the state law due to the constitutional Supremacy Clause, which would mean medical marijuana would once again be illegal in Oregon. Josephine County has over 5,000 medical marijuana cardholders, one of the highest per-capita concentrations of medical marijuana cards in the state. In August 2013, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber signed House Bill 3460 into law, creating ORS 475.300 – provisions for allowing medical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon. The law allowing dispensaries took effect March 1. A later amend- ment gave local governments until May 1 to adopt up to a one- year moratorium on dispensaries. In advance of the May 1 deadline, many municipalities chose to wait out the year before acting on the new law by de- claring a moratorium on dispensaries. At least 23 counties and 128 cities adopted moratoriums. The idea was to see whether the law will remain in effect, or if these bans can be made permanent, a position favored by the League of Oregon Cities. Three cities have adopted permanent bans, but their legality is also in doubt. Other municipalities may be waiting to see how details in the law may be changed between now and May 1, 2015 when the moratoriums must be lifted. This strategy avoids passing ordinances which may be overturned in the future – creating further problems and potential lawsuits from dispensary own- ers. Most city charters require them to comply with federal law and ordinances which deny business licenses to anyone violating federal law. Despite this, a small handful of cities, including Portland and Bend, are allowing dispensaries; while Central Point and Klamath Falls are allowing them only under tight restrictions. Court ... Continued from A-1 In a recent interview, Kirchoff pointed out that Cave Junction’s legal code is based on observing state and federal laws and that city councilors take an oath to uphold these regulations. “It’s about the rule of law,” he said. “You can’t pick and choose which laws you will and won’t obey. That leads to anarchy.” In a separate interview, City Recorder Ryan Nolan said, “Potential liability concerns, including endangering federal grant funding are definitely worth pursuing legal determination from a court before there is a problem. Sticking your head in the sand and waiting isn’t a good idea.” Nolan said he sees a potential issue with conflicting law and the potential for liability on the part of the city. “So, getting a legal judgment, and clarification on how to proceed with this issue, does nothing but protect the inter- est of the taxpayers and citizens of the City of Cave Junction,” he said, noting that the city can terminate the contract with B onnie’s B otanicals 200 Burch Drive • Cave Junction • 2 M iles s outh of t own Open Tuesday - Sunday 541-592-6487 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mother’s Day Sale! Veggie Starts, Flowers and More All plAnts grown At westside nursery Southern Oregon Alternative Medicine Will be returning for the monthly clinic to their Cave Junction location at the Jefferson state trading Post M ONDAY - M AY 12 L ocated south of c ave J unction at 27893 R edwood h wy i f you aRe tiRed of being tReated with piLLs , stop by and sign - up today . For more information, please call 541.592.6647 or visit southernoregonalternativemedicine.com When they're behind bars they're not stealing: Your car Your gun Your mail Your purse Your gas Your tools Your __??____ YES on 17-59 Paid for by Citizens Securing Our Safety accepting EBT S top in for everything you need ! C igarettes & B eer • g et it H ere CANDY, SNACKS, BEVERAGES, PARTY PARTY PARTY SUPPLIES, SCHOOL, HEALTH & BEAUTY, OFFICE, PETS, AUTO, FOOD D ollar D eals S ummer h ourS 9:00 am - 8:00 pm • mon. to Sat. 9:00 am - 6:00 pm • SundayS 541-529-4903 GMO Free: a guest opinion by John Gardiner Everywhere we turn, too-big-to-fail corporations are wrecking our society. Not just the banksters, who have caused so much grief that anyone who’s not transferred what’s left of their savings to a credit union is just not pay- ing attention to what’s in their best interests. It’s nothing new – in the 1920s, General Mo- tors began a covert campaign that eventually destroyed the popular rail-based public transit systems in the country’s urban areas In 1937, William Randolph Hearst, Du Pont and others caused hemp to be banned (http://www.amazon.com/The-Emperor-Wears- Clothes-Conspiracy/dp/1878125028). Can- nabis was vilified (c.f. Reefer Madness). The older generation still exhibits fear induced by corporate interests, despite cannabinoids being far more effective, with fewer side effects, than pharmaceuticals. Who benefits? ‘Big Timber’? ‘Big Pharma’? The privatized prison indus- try?? Small farmers, backbone of food produc- tion, are regulated unfairly. Ever-changing rules govern sales of local raw goat milk or cheese, SO good for us. Who receives the vast majority of USDA subsidies? Not the small farmers! The interests of biotech/pesticide companies are advanced with the notorious ‘revolving door’ syndrome. Legislators are ‘advised’ by senior corporate individuals join- ing the government agency, who then return to their company to reap the profits. The rotation of people between government and Monsanto is absolutely scandalous, but highly effec- tive. With corporate ‘self-regulation’ of GMO crops and use of pesticides, led to increase in pesticide sales of over 6000 percent from 1990 - 2010. Why are we often sick, and tired? Know anyone with allergies, cancer? Could there be any connection with pesticide use (or abuse, in the aerial spraying of Coos Bay residents)? Many multinational corporations are wreaking havoc on our lives. Did I mention fracking? Or CAFUs (Combined Animal Feeding Units)? Removing mountain tops to mine coal, the dirtiest source of energy? Keystone XL pipe- line? Lack of research into renewable energy? The good news? Our burgeoning Farm- ers Markets - a welcome symptom of local- ization - and young farmers coming to our Valley. A dollar spent locally will circulate maybe 7x, lifting our local economy. http:// thenewlocalization.com/2014/04/17/economic- concentration/#more-79 How can we improve our local economy? Frequent our Farmers’ Markets and local shops. Protect local agriculture by voting in May for a GMO-Free JoCo (Measure 17-58). Sign to get Freedom from Pesticides on the November ballot. Join our many volunteers to help those in need; clean-up our parks and rivers. Take visitors to local attractions. Grow food and flowers - buy starts from local farmers. See our many wonderful alternative healers; ditch synthetic drugs. Vacation at local resorts. Let’s remove the influence of as many large corporations from our lives as possible!
