Fife City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved to continue a citywide moratorium on collective gardens that would grow marijuana for medical use. The vote allows more time for city staff to ponder zoning and permitting issues involving the state’s medical marijuana laws. The vote extended a previous moratorium approved this summer that was set to expire and continues the temporary ban for another six months.
While there have been no permit requests for such gardens so far, the issue became a hot topic for cities around the state last year after the Washington Legislature approved a bill that allows patients with medical issues ranging from chronic pain and Crohn’s disease to Glaucoma and Hepatitis C to use marijuana or marijuana-derived products to treat their condition if they are under the care of a medical professional.
The state also allows these patients to form “collective gardens” for the purpose of producing, processing, transporting and delivering marijuana for medical use.
Fife officials, and those in several other cities, have questions about the legality of the state allowing the cultivation and use of marijuana when the federal government still considers cannabis an illegal drug.
The Fife moratorium is now in effect until July. Nearby Tacoma has formed a medical cannabis task force to develop its own regulations and hopes to serve as a model for other cities facing similar issues. The task force recommendations will be presented to the Tacoma City Council later this year.
