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Clark County council candidates mixed on pot

Some, not all, in District 2, council chair races willing to revisit retail ban, but it is not a high priority for any of them

By Katie Gillespie, Columbian Education Reporter
Published: October 19, 2015, 6:05am

One of Washington’s biggest political experiments has yet to play out in unincorporated Clark County.

Before a lively and angry crowd last year, the then-Board of Clark County Commissioners banned any recreational marijuana businesses from opening their doors in unincorporated areas. They’re hardly the only jurisdiction that put a kibosh on marijuana sales. Woodland, La Center, Ridgefield, Washougal and Camas all have moratoriums banning businesses and shops that produce and sell recreational marijuana.

But the Washington State Legislature has since approved House Bill 2136, which distributes part of the marijuana excise tax revenue to local jurisdictions. Clark County could have received $496,000 in its general fund for the 2016 fiscal year, according to the state Liquor and Cannabis Board — which would be a tiny proportion of Clark County’s $295.7 million general fund revenue.

Clark County council candidates aren’t eager to immediately change the county’s policy regarding recreational marijuana processing and sales, but the board could see a shift in attitude toward the policy after the Nov. 3 election.

Here’s where Clark County chair candidates Mike Dalesandro, a Democrat, and Marc Boldt, who is running with no party preference; and the District 2 candidates, Julie Olson, a Republican, and Chuck Green, a Democrat, stand on the ban. State Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas, a council chair write-in candidate, did not return a request for comment.

Julie Olson

Though Olson did not support Initiative 502, which legalized recreational marijuana, she said she would be willing to revisit the marijuana ban. “We’re an agency of the state,” she said. “It’s legal at the state level.”

She suggested that tax revenue from stores in Clark County could fund additional deputies in the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, in order to better prevent marijuana-related crime.

“I’m also not going to ignore the fact that there’s a black market,” she said.

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Olson was clear, however, that revisiting the ban is not high on her priority list.

“I probably wouldn’t bring it up myself,” she said, adding that she would have a “serious conversation” if it became a priority to her fellow councilors.

Chuck Green

Green also said revisiting the county’s ban is a “low priority,” but he’s not ready to count it out yet.

Legal recreational marijuana has come with its pros and cons in the city of Vancouver, Green said. For example, Main Street Marijuana at 2314 Main St., which is consistently the top-selling pot shop in the state, has brought revenue into the city, but has created a parking problem in Uptown Village, he said.

“I would like to do a little bit of research” to weigh the options, Green said.

However, Green said one of his first goals as councilor is for the board to create a “work plan” laying out its goals for the year, and he would likely raise the issue while setting those goals.

“I’m more of a believer in states’ rights,” he said. “I would at least like to have the discussion.”

Marc Boldt

Boldt said he would be willing to revisit the issue of the marijuana ban if the county considered earmarking its tax for treatment and prevention.

“One of the keys of (Initiative 502) was to keep kids away from it,” Boldt said.

Improving access to drug and alcohol treatment has been one of the cornerstones of Boldt’s campaign. He said he’d like to use the money to create informational materials, and suggested the county use the money to give grants for anti-drug clubs for high school students.

“The writing’s on the wall that shops will come into the county,” Boldt said. “Let’s get prevention money into counties and cities.”

Mike Dalesandro

Revisiting Clark County’s marijuana moratorium is not on Dalesandro’s radar for the near future.

“I don’t see a need to jump in there and advocate for any change,” Dalesandro said.

Dalesandro is a city councilor in Battle Ground, the only one of Clark County’s small cities that does not have a marijuana moratorium. The council found itself gridlocked on a proposed emergency moratorium early last year after the council voted 3-3 to delay the discussion. Dalesandro was among those who voted to hold off on discussion of the moratorium until the city could further research the issue.

For its one store, the Cannabis Country Store, Battle Ground received $35,600. That amounts to about 0.3 percent of its $11.8 million general fund budget for 2015.

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Columbian Education Reporter