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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 29, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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September 29, 2011
 
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City partially denies license for pot business By ARLA SHEPHARD Lori Kent and Robert Wood thought marijuana could breathe new life into Shelton. Now, they've changed their minds. The couple, who own Belfair's MariMeds medical marijuana self-treatment center, planned to open a fa- cility in Shelton that would allow a health care profes- sional the ability to write medical marijuana recom- mendations to patients. The business, at the site of the old Ah Badabing piz- zeria on 324 W Railroad Ave., would also provide space for patients to rent the kitchen to prepare foods with active cannabis ingre- dients, host educational classes to teach patients how to grow and process marijuana, and offer canna- bis testing to help patients determine how best to treat their illnesses. Following a hearing on Sept. 16, however, the City of Shelton denied the cou- ple a complete business li- cense this week, specifically rejecting cannabis testing and medical marijuana au- thorizations on the prem- ises. Kent and Wood already received their right to oc- cupy the building. "Without a business li- cense, our right to occupy amounts to a hill of beans," said Kent, who feels that the couple were unduly ha- rassed and discriminated against by Shelton law en- forcement, in particular interim Police Chief Dave Eklund, who testified at the hearing. Eklund objected to the business hosting a health care professional on site, because under state law a health care professional who makes medical mari- juana recommendations cannot hold an economic interest in a site that also produces, processes or dis- penses marijuana. "My concern was a finan- cial conflict about the fact that they have a dispen- sary in Belfair and here in Shelton looking to do medi- cal authorizations," Eklund said. "That was my primary concern and why the license was initially denied." Kent and her partner Wood planned to hire an outside health care profes- sional who would not have a financial stake in the business, Kent said, and they also did not plan to sell marijuana or have any on the premises in Shelton. "[Eklund] wouldn't even look at what we're actu- ally doing, he thinks we're a dispensary," she said. "He is ignorant. In truth, there is no profit [from marijuana sales]." In Belfair, MariMeds re- ceives its marijuana from patients who have grown more than the legal limit as defined by the state, which is 1.5 pounds, and then do- nates the marijuana to oth- er patients, Kent said. The Belfair site make a profit from selling mer- chandise like sweatshirts. hats and bumper stickers, she added. Mason County is in the midst of a moratorium on collective marijuana grow gardens, which are legal in the state and allow each person in a collective up to 15 plants to grow, with a to- tal of no more than 45 in a collective. "People don't seem to un- derstand that. believe it or not, patients want to be le- gal." Kent said. "They don't want to ruin it for the rest of the sector." Several of the activi- ties that would have taken place at the Shelton facility would not have been legal, said City Administrator Dave O'Leary in the ap- peals decision he formed on Monday. "Since the Health Care Professional would accept payment from Marl Meds, the Health Care Profes- sional would be considered to have an economic inter- est in the applicant's Ma- son County dispensary," he wrote. "The business plan invites Qualifying Patients to bring medical cannabis into the business and mix it into foods ... This is canna- bis processing. In my judg- ment, the medical authori- zations will be performed in the same location where cannabis is processed. The intended use would violate State law. and for this rea- son the business license can not be issued for this pur- pose." The city also denied the business license for can- nabis testing, but allowed the license for the commer- cial kitchen rental, educa- tional classes and the sale of equipment used in mari- juana growing. However, the couple is unsure as to whether to move forward with their business at all because their experience with Shel- ton law enforcement have soured them against work- ing in the city, Wood said. "It's about safety. We had police cars outside the building the whole time," he said. "I had 17 trained employees, ready to go, who are now unemployed." Eklund had no comment on the claims that he and his staff harassed the cou- ple. The couple will appeal the decision further to the city commission, but they are also interested in bring- ing their business to other cities like Lacey, Kent said. "We were hopeful to do CPR on a dead city," she said. "It's sad. Belfair's booming and Shelton is just not." MariMeds in Belfair serves about 4,000 patients. Bridge replacement begins on Skokomish River Road By NATALIE JOHNSON Two bridges on the Skokomish River Road have been partially closed and in need of repair for the past two years. On Oct. 1, Mason County will be- gin work to completely replace Weaver Creek bridge, the first of two to be re- placed during the next several years. "It's a replacement of an existing deputy director of Mason County Pub- lic Works. "Basically there is concern that the pilings that are supporting the bridge are starting to fail." The Weaver Creek bridge was last re- placed in 1964 and has reached the end of its lifespan, Matthews said. For the past two years, the bridge has been restricted to one lane, placing the heaviest load directly on the center of the bridge, Matthews said. This is be- cause pilings holding up the outer edges of the bridge are in the worst shape. The project, which will take four months, will replace the entire structure with a much wider bridge with a pedes- trian/bike lane, The bridge will also have a longer projected lifespan. "The new ones are typically 100 years. That is what we're seeing on a consistent basis," Matthews said. While the current Weaver Creek bridge sits within a creek, the new struc- ture will be entirely outside of the creek bed, he said. Depending on weather, county road crews hope to be done with the project by the end of January. However, to lay asphalt, crews need mild, dry weather, Matthews said. "Early February for the first few Journa photo by NatNie Joh3sor Crews begin work on replacing the Weaver Creek Bridge on the Skokomish Valley Road. weeks is pretty good weather." he said. "It will just depend on what kind of weather we have." Traffic will be diverted over a tempo- rary bridge owned by the county while crews construct the new bridge. The 80-foot long, 20-ton temporary bridge will lay parallel to the old bridge. County crews don't expect flooding a common occurence in the Skokomish Valley to impact the project. "That bridge, according to the local neighbors, the deck has never been un- derwater" Matthews said. The county plans to replace the sec- ond bridge the Hunter Creek bridge -- in 2013. That bridge was constructed in 1956. he said. Last week, the Mason County Board of Commissioners approved a proposal co lower the speed limit over the Hunter Creek bridge from 45 mph to 40 mph in preparation for the construction.' The [Hunter Creek} bridge is on a curve. That's what causes the reduced speed," Matthews said. The $752,849 project is funded mostly by the Federal Highway Bridge Program. While 80 percent of funding comes from that fund, approved by the Washington State Bridge Replacement Advisory Council. the other 20 percent comes from the Mason County Road Fund. Take A "Shoe" at Bowens! An invitation to our patients & the community to help the homeless and see Dr. Bowers in the dunk tank at Oysterfest. October 1st at 4:00 pm Area A All proceeds benefit the Cold Weather Shelter and meals for the homeless of Mason County. Dr. Steven H. 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All prices plus'tax • Limited 0 stock on I/and Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, September 29, 2011 - Page A-5