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7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2016 Cannon Beach vote could prohibit cannabis shops City adopts pot rules pending initiative vote By LYRA FONTAINE The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH — Retail cannabis shops could be located in one of three com- mercial areas, according to a Cannon Beach City Council vote this week. But whether any retail recreational shops will come to Cannon Beach at all will be at the discretion of the voters. A group of residents suc- cessfully submitted a peti- tion with 155 certiied signa- tures to put an initiative on the Nov. 8 ballot asking voters if recreational marijuana shops should be banned in Cannon Beach. The question on the initiative led by citizens is, “Shall recreational marijuana producers, processors, whole- salers and retailers be prohib- ited in Cannon Beach?” A separate vote initiated by the city will ask residents if a 3 percent tax should be applied to recreational mari- juana sales. Jeremy Randolph, Mar- lene Laws, Nancy Giasson, Gary Laws and Molly Edi- son formed the committee that brought the opt-out initiative to the city. The petition was presented to City Council on Tuesday as part of the election process, with the city acting as a “conduit,” Herdener said. City recorder and city elections Jeremy oficial Col- Randolph leen Riggs will process required paperwork for county election oficials to put the ini- tiative on the ballot. Randolph said the council showed “inaction on a major issue” when they did not vote to legalize or ban marijuana shops in April. “There’s nothing to stop you from reconsidering your inaction,” Randolph said during the public hearing on the marijuana ordinance. “If you choose not to do that, I’d ask that you consider the fact that there is no good place in Cannon Beach for recreational marijuana sales.” He said he “moved to Can- non Beach for a very speciic purpose. I wanted to live in a village. This is not a tourist town; this is a resort town.” Randolph said council- ors’ inaction “is a grave dis- appointment to an awful lot of people,” Randolph said. Measure 91, which legal- ized recreational marijuana in Oregon for people 21 and older, was approved by 63 percent of Cannon Beach vot- ers in 2014. “I felt it was inappropri- ate for ive council members to decide that those two-thirds of the population did not know what they were talking about,” Beneield said. “Therefore, we said, ‘Let the citizens take it to the ballot with an initiative,’ and that’s been done.” “Everybody here agreed that we want voters to make that decision,” Higgins said. “We all agreed that 63 percent voted in favor of it, but not all 63 percent voted in favor of it in their community and we wanted the community to tell us.” The council could amend the adopted regulations to apply to medical marijuana only — even if residents vote to ban recreational marijuana in Cannon Beach. “The law states that citi- zens can only opt out of four recreational retail activi- ties,” City Attorney Tammy Herdener said. Randolph said marijuana sales are illegal under federal law, and “by not voting to ban both medical and recreational sales of marijuana, the coun- cil members that made that choice violated their oath of ofice, which is to uphold the law.” “I voted for the legaliza- tion but I did as a former pros- ecutor as it relates to cost-ben- eit analysis and what is more important for law enforce- ment to be involved with,” Randolph said. “I certainly didn’t vote for it to be stores with shuttered-up windows; this doesn’t it what Cannon Beach is.” Oregon starts ball rolling against underage pot use By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau The Oregon Health Author- ity has launched a mass-media blitz aimed at discouraging underage youth from using marijuana. The “Stay True to You” campaign uses a web- site, social media outreach, streaming video, posters and audio spots to relate some of the negative effects of under- age use of the drug. Research shows habitual marijuana use by adolescents and young adults is associ- ated with impaired memory and academic achieve- ment, according to the health authority. The Legislature gave the Health Authority nearly $4 million to develop and pilot the campaign for 12 months in the Portland metro area and in rural Jackson and Josephine counties in Southern Oregon. Lawmakers could then decide whether to expand the cam- paign statewide. “We did extensive focus- group testing with Oregon youth and young adults to help develop the creative mes- saging for the campaign,” said Kati Moseley, policy special- ist with authority’s Public Health Division. “Among the things we learned was Oregon youth and young adults spend a lot of time on social and dig- ital media and like to receive information that way. The campaign is heavily geared toward that.” Most of the advertising will appear in digital and stream- ing video on YouTube and other platforms. Advertising also will be placed in movie theaters, social media blasts with the hashtag #StayTrue- Oregon, a website, Facebook, Oregon Health Authority One of the ads from the Oregon Health Authority’s cam- paign to prevent underage marijuana use. radio broadcasts and outreach to youth organizations. “The Centers for Dis- ease Control recognizes mass media campaigns as a recog- nized intervention to change attitudes and behavior, so we do know this kind of campaign can have an effect,” Moseley said. “It works best when sup- ported by other policies.” One such policy is state law prohibiting the use of marijuana in public areas, she said. The campaign is the irst focused effort toward prevent- ing youth from using mari- juana, one year after legaliza- tion of recreational use of the drug. About 9 percent of eighth-graders and 19 percent of 11th-graders reported using marijuana in 2015, accord- ing to a survey by the health authority. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission plans to conduct regular inspections of retailers and enforcement actions such as using minor decoys to make sure youth can’t access mari- juana in stores. But that effort won’t start until the agency takes over regulation of rec- reational marijuana at the end of the year, said Mark Pet- tinger, a liquor control spokes- man. About 13 inspectors are assigned to that task so far, Pettinger said. The health authority, which regulates recreational mari- juana on a temporary basis, now only responds to com- plaints related to dispensa- ries selling recreational mari- juana to underage customers, said Andre Ourso, manager of the state’s medical marijuana program. Violators face civil penal- ties, which can include revo- cation of their dispensary reg- istration, he said. Submitted Photos Map of Cannon Beach outlining areas where cannabis may be sold pending results of a November opt-out initiative. The red zones are C-1 commercial. Cannon Beach lays out weed map The Daily Astorian The Cannon Beach City Council voted 4-1 to adopt an ordinance with time, place and manner restrictions for medical and recreational mar- ijuana businesses. The zones are downtown from Ecola Creek on the north to Washington Street on the south, midtown from Harrison Street on the north to Elliot Way on the south, and Tolovana Park from Delta Street on the north to the northern boundary of Sand Castle Condominiums on the south. Councilor George Vetter voted against adopting the ordinance, which is located in the business taxes, licenses and regulation area of the municipal code. He disagreed with creat- ing ordinances for marijuana businesses already enforced by the state. “The state has created plenty of controls over the sale of marijuana,” Vet- ter said. “I am opposed to the city singling out a class of business and regulating it separately.” councilors had concerns about allowing marijuana shops in certain areas. Councilor Wendy Higgins said Tolovana Park was resi- dential with a “village feel.” The RV Park included in the midtown zone is “quasi-res- idential,” Councilor Melissa Cadwallader said. “To have marijuana sales According to the ordinance, a medical or recreational marijuana facility can be licensed to operate only with- in the limited commercial zones in downtown, midtown and Tolovana Park. in the window downtown where there are families, it seems out of character,” Councilor Mike Beneield said. “It doesn’t seem like a proper image for Cannon Beach.” Medical marijuana facil- ities must comply with Ore- gon Health Authority rules, the ordinance stated, while recreational marijuana facili- ties need to comply with Ore- gon Liquor Control Commis- sion rules. Medical and recreational marijuana shops should have all doorways, windows and other openings “located, cov- Utzinger’s Monday-Wednesday: 9 am to 5 pm INSIDER eomediagroup.com The most valuable and respected source of local news, advertising and information for our communities. off 50 L S % iquidation ale July 11 th -13 th and July 18 th -20 th 9 am -5 pm New hours OREGON CAPITAL ered or screened in such a manner to prevent a view into the interior” from any outside public or semipublic area. Both facilities must also comply with other laws, use an air iltration and ventilation system to conine “objection- able odors,” and cannot open earlier than 8 a.m. or later than 10 p.m. on the same day. Marijuana and tobacco products cannot be used at either facility. Under state law, marijuana shops are not permitted to operate within 1,000 feet of an elementary or secondary school, both public and private. We greatly appreciate the community for many years of loyalty to our family-owned and operated hardware store. Ca ssa n d ra , Albert & Teresa Utzin ger Da ve W illo u ghby, Bo n n ie Hellberg Just across the old Youngs Bay Bridge 35408 HWY 101 BUS. • ASTORIA • 503-325-3103
