The Ketchikan City Council voted Thursday night to ban the commercial sale of marijuana within city limits. Mayor Lew Williams III requested the issue be brought before the council. Williams said he doesn’t oppose the sale of certain items but is concerned with oils, concentrates and edibles.
“Oils and the edibles, I think, are just made for a younger audience. For this community, I am dead against having that sold within the City of Ketchikan,” Williams said. “The other stuff – they can grow it, they can smoke it, it’s legalized in the state, it doesn’t inhibit anybody’s usage.”
Under state law, municipalities can block commercial sales completely, but, if they approve sales, they cannot restrict the types of products sold.
Councilmember Dick Coose made the motion to prohibit commercial marijuana sales.
Coose says he sees no benefit to the city or the people.
“And they say, ‘What do you mean, don’t you believe or trust the voters?’” Coose said. “And I say, sometimes voters don’t always get it right. This is one of them which I think is wrong because there are too many dangers out there. If people are going to smoke it, they’ve got that opportunity. They can grow it in their house and they can share it. But we don’t have to make it readily available, especially the edibles and the other things.”
Cultivation for personal use is legal. Coose said he’s concerned that regulations do not allow a municipality to control THC concentrations. THC is the chemical that gives marijuana most of its psychological effects. Coose added that he does not believe the city would make much money from sales.
Councilmember Bob Sivertsen seconded Coose’s motion, and offered an amendment. Rather than making a final decision, he suggested the council recommend commercial marijuana sales be prohibited to a local marijuana advisory committee. He said a vote was premature since the state is still revising regulations. He too expressed concerns about concentrates.
Councilmember Judy Zenge said voters approved the use of marijuana and their wishes should be honored, with restrictions.
“Now Bob (Sivertsen) might be talking to the 920 people who voted no, but apparently I’ve been speaking to the 1154 people who voted yes,” Zenge said. “Marijuana is legal and there are going to be some people that are going to need some help with that. Just like folks who have alcohol dependency were going to end up with people that have pot dependency.”
Zenge said not everyone who uses marijuana will become dependent. She said taxes can help address dependency issues. Zenge also said she doesn’t understand why people oppose retail stores because the products have to be tested and THC concentrations reported.
The council rejected Sivertsen’s amendment.
The commercial ban passed 5-2. Councilmembers Coose, Sivertsen, Dave Kiffer, Janalee Gage and Julie Isom voted yes. Councilmembers Zenge and KJ Harris voted no.
