Airway Heights commission recommends medical marijuana changes

The Airway Heights Planning Commission voted 3-0 to forward a resolution to City Council recommending they adopt amendments to the city’s municipal code regarding medical cannabis standards. Commission chair Larry Bowman was absent from the meeting. No public comments were received regarding the new amendments.

Development Services Director Derrick Braaten explained the amendments were in response to Gov. Jay Inslee signing the “The Cannabis Patient Protection Act,” a senate bill that creates regulation for medical cannabis in Washington state. The city had previously adopted its own standards for medical cannabis because the state had no regulations for medical cannabis at the time.

Several changes went into place after Inslee signed SB 5252, one being a new standards that patients 18-20 years old can acquire a cannabis prescription.

Braaten said there was concerns with the bill allowing patients under 18 years old to use it at school. He said there was a misconception that patients would be smoking it on school grounds.

“A patient would actually have it administered to them by a school nurse, like a prescription drug,” Braaten said.

Under the new bill, growers can sign onto a voluntary medical marijuana authorization database that allows them to grow up to 15 plants per housing unit. If they are part of a collective garden with other growers, they can produce up to 15 plants per person and 45 total.

Growers who are not registered can grow up to four plants. Registering with the database also provides growers with arrest protection.

“With the medical marijuana database, it eliminates local medical licenses,” Braaten said. “The state regulates that, and collective gardens that have local permits will not be permitted or renewed after July 1, 2016.”

Commissioner Matthew Pederson asked what power the city would have to implement rules. Braaten said the city would continue to maintain local jurisdiction and can approve or deny an application with proper justification. He added that the city has not received any applications for medical cannabis facilities.

Under SB 5252, cooperative gardens have to be located within the living space of one of the registered patients. Plants cannot be sold to anyone outside of the cooperative or non-registered patients.

“If a registered patient is caught doing that, it’s a criminal charge, just like if it was drug dealing,” Braaten said.

One of the city’s amendments is the living space must be a minimum of 6,000 square feet. The commission asked about provisions for landlords to give consent to tenants before they can use the space to grow medical cannabis. Braaten said he could add language that requests further approval from the property owner.

“They can grow as long as the landowner knows it,” Braaten said. “If the owner doesn’t know it or hasn’t approved it, it’s an illegal operation,” Braaten said.

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].