Idaho Mountain Express: Marijuana initiative makes Hailey ballot

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Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Marijuana initiative makes Hailey ballot

Cannabis advocate meets city?s initiative process requirements

By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

Ryan Davidson

Hailey's electorate will vote in November on proposed initiatives to legalize or decriminalize marijuana within the city limits.

After legal battles with Hailey for more than three years, pro-marijuana advocate Ryan Davidson, chairman of Liberty Lobby of Idaho, has successfully complied with city requirements to put his initiatives before the voters.

Davidson was notified on Friday, the deadline for completion of initiative requirements, that his pro-marijuana initiatives will be on the ballot for the city's Nov. 6 general election.

"The only way this is going to go away is to let the people vote on it," said Hailey City Council President Rick Davis at Monday's council meeting.

Hailey's electorate will vote on four different initiatives to legalize or decriminalize marijuana. The first, and the one Davidson said is most important, would mandate the city to regulate and tax marijuana sales and use and would require the city to advocate and lobby for reform of marijuana laws statewide or nationally.

If approved by the voters, adoption of the law could be delayed for up to one year. The initiative requires the establishment of a community oversight committee to work out the details of legalization and gives the committee one year to get the job done. The four-member committee would be composed of representatives appointed by the City Council, the mayor, the Hailey Police Department and Liberty Lobby of Idaho.

"Nothing's going to be immediately legalized if the initiative passes," Davidson said Monday.

A second initiative before the voters would legalize medical use of marijuana. Another initiative would make enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest priority for the Hailey Police Department. The fourth initiative would allow for industrial use of hemp, a marijuana by-product.

The City Council discussed the initiatives briefly at its Monday meeting when City Clerk Heather Dawson formally notified the council that the initiatives have qualified for the ballot.

Council members seemed more amused than alarmed by the initiatives and mused that Hailey may receive national news media attention because of the issue.

The only action taken by the council was a vote to not summarize wording in the initiatives and to have them printed as written on the ballot.

"The voters have to vote on this. The Supreme Court was very clear," said Hailey City Attorney Ned Williamson.

He was referring to an Idaho Supreme Court decision in September 2006 when the high court ruled in Davidson's favor in a lawsuit against the city of Sun Valley. In that ruling the court determined that municipalities do not have the right to determine the constitutionality of proposed initiatives.

Davidson won a second major court victory earlier this month when U.S. District Court in Boise issued a preliminary injunction that bars the city of Hailey from requiring that initiators of initiatives be residents of the city.

Davidson's legal battles with cities in the Wood River Valley began in August 2004 when he filed petitions for initiative elections with the cities of Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley.

Davidson said Monday that he will continue to push for marijuana legalization elections in Ketchum and Sun Valley and hopes to have the issues on ballots for next May's primary elections.

Davidson acknowledged that if voters approve his pro-marijuana initiatives, further litigation might ensue because of conflicts with state and federal law.

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The comments below are from the readers of mtexpress.com and in no way represent the views of Express Publishing Inc.

denver hendrix – emmett, idaho

06/25/09 - 11:40

I think what the city of Hailey is doning is great. most people want to have a good life and be succesful. i am the same way plus smoke marijuana. if it was legalized in hailey people wouldnt have to be so concerned about being prosicuted, they could live their lifes and smoke. thank you

Reply to denver hendrix

11/07/09 - 18:44

Uh, hey man, the initiatives were, like, thrown out in court, so, uh, like, pass me that joint, willya?

chris gosse – kooskia idaho

01/21/09 - 05:17

it sound be taxed , 18 and older to use ,and amount sould not patter.

thats all im going to say because nuthin i say or do is going to change anying!!!

Airport stoney

11/21/08 - 14:10

PK from the airport will be voting to leagalize it!

kole – idaho falls

11/21/08 - 13:04

I cannot beleive this....I have been waiting for years for someone in this state to push this and finally it has started. Mr. davidson if you get this message or read it then can you gety at me. nyne_millie@netzero.net. I would like to talk to you about possibly getting this started here in idaho falls. Not to far away from were you are at. I would like to know what you had to do to get this befor the courts and how to get the people a chance to speak their minds and get it decriminalized in idaho falls...for now. Legalization down the road; but hey...wouldnt it be nice if we could all sit together at a weekly meeting and blaze till our eyes hurt. If hailey can so can we. People of idaho falls...here is your sign..lets all get together and get this passed here to.

Reply to kole

JoAnn Patterson

11/07/09 - 13:14

I completley agree with you. It needs to be legalized around the
country. I live in Ut moved here from CA boy have I been hurting
they have the right idea. Yes, let's all get together people and get
the laws passed!!

shinyallard

09/16/08 - 12:39

This really a great opportunity for the people of the Hailey , that can change completely the initiatives, the Meth is serious problem which should be eradicated as soon as possible.
============================================
shinyallard
http://www.marijuanaaddictiontreatment.com

roy sandefur – hailey idaho

11/24/07 - 02:58

You CAN fight city hall!

Greg – Idaho Falls, ID

11/20/07 - 03:01

Yowza, well I think it's great. We are effectively surrounded by states that have the compassion and understanding to make access to medical marijuana less complicated. I'm going to included some links for those who are more than likely shocked and amazed than Idaho could possibly have anything to due with marijuana. But you have to keep in mind folks, it's the biggest cash crop in the state. norml.org also I found this Hailey article in Time magazine from a link at hempbc.com so look around. Information is available if you want it, keep an open mind and let's assume for now if you don't need access that you won't stop someone who does simply because you don't want to. Here's some more info, videos.med.wisc.edu www.safeaccessnow.org

M town

11/09/07 - 08:32

I think it's a good thing. The cops will less worry about that and focus on bigger problems.

Human57

11/08/07 - 20:37

This is fabulous - what a patriot!!!! what a soldier - give all my kudos to this soldier of the plant!!!

God loves those who love His creation!

Human

Matt

11/08/07 - 01:23

please legalize medical marijuana i have Glaucoma

vern

11/07/07 - 14:08

vote ron paul in 08...he`ll leagalize it

Max

11/02/07 - 06:21

Dear Ryan Davidson,
I would really appreciate it if you brouight your campaign to Florida and legalized it here. With it being legalized it will take away the world debt in a couple of years. Anyways good luck on the vote

Iandanger – Catonsville, MD

11/01/07 - 17:47

I would like to make mention, you said that Hemp is a Marijuana byproduct, that is not accurate. Industrial hemp is a completely seperate breed of plant from Marijuana and it doesn't contain THC, the active drug in Marijuana.

It is the misunderstanding that keeps the plant illegal despite its numerous economic benefits.

Reply to Iandanger

Owen

11/02/07 - 10:30

I'm sorry this is not just inaccurate, this is spreading misinformation to the public.

This same information is used to keep the public consciousness thinking that these two plants are the same, and one cannot be legalized without the other.

While I believe no plant should be out-lawed, the legalization of the usage of hemp would be a great victory for everyone out there who claims to actually give a damn about global warming and conservation of nature. (e.g. less need for plastics, less need to farm trees, and many more)

Administrator

11/01/07 - 17:01

You can discuss this topic and others on the new Mt Express Forums. This topic is listed in the Local Elections Category under the Hailey Election. The forum requires registration.

www.mtexpress.com

CJC – Hailey

11/01/07 - 16:28

This is a rare opportunity for the voters of Hailey to stand up and let the city know what you think, and this may be the only chance to stand and be heard. It will not change much right away if the initiative/s are passed, which I personally think that some, if not all will pass, based on the general liberal demographic of this valley. The long term however could be siginificant, and it would put our law enforcement on notice, to get down to the real business at hand, and leave the hippy's alone. As Kelly mentioned, the meth, and I'll go on to further that comment and add, the murders, the sexual predators who are lurking in the midst of our community, illegal immigration and employment of illegals, gangs, rapists. The stuff that keeps you awake at night. i know I don't worry about the neighbor down the street burning one after a long day of work, I do worry about the neighbor down the street who's name I found on the sexual offender website, becuase they have to register where they live, and it's two blocks over. Those are the kind of things our police should be policing... not the casual user. I'll take a pothead neighbor over an alcholic neighbor any day of the week. Stand up and be heard!

Reply to CJC

realist researcher – Sandpoint, ID

03/02/08 - 12:10

I'll start off by saying that I am a mother of 4. My children are between the ages of 10 years and 7 months. I of course worry about sex offenders, especially being that my oldest three children are girls. Most people don't realize that 75% of the registered sex offenders are not harmful. They aren't pedifiles or kidnappers like Duncan. A 18 year old boy with a 17 year old girlfriend is a sex offender. That stereo-type will follow him his whole life. An adult man (or woman) who goes to the bar and gooses a member of the opposite sex is also considered a sex offender if charges are brought against them. So before you begin to be wary, please take the time to find out exactly what the registrant was convicted of. The case and it's details are all public record. This is another flaw in our justice system. People cannot gain employment or find places to rent because they are lumped together with people who are very dangerous. Once again we all need to look at all the issues and not just the bad ones that make the news.

noah

11/01/07 - 16:18

it's not even a matter of getting with the times - pot prohibition was never really about protecting people from themselves - it was about the big industries being threatened by the amazing, versatile hemp that anybody with a hill of mud could grow..

blah chewedknee

11/01/07 - 15:11

Power to the people!
Let them decide.

David Conway

11/01/07 - 14:39

Let's be totally honest. The smoking of marijuana is a terrible waste of a God-given life. But, in reality, the money and time spent trying to stop this drug from being circulated is astounding. The drug has caused many unnecessary deaths and people ceing forced into situations that can be prevented, such as children in school. Alcohol has about the same effect as marijuana, but alcohol is legal, maybe just put an 18 year old age limit and strictly enforce that. Come on people, lets do something to help stop the violence and the eventual decadence of our beautiful nation.

Reply to David Conway

craig bowers

11/01/07 - 15:01

David... Let me quote you. "Alcohol has about the same effect as marijuana, but alcohol is legal, maybe just put an 18 year old age limit and strictly enforce that."

There are three better options than the ones you gave.
1. We ban alcohol. Why not? It has the same effects according to you... isn't that your only argument?

2. We ban alcohol, and approve marijuana. Marijuana is proven to be better than marijuana in almost every way. It is much healthier, there have been tests, and there is no evidence showing that it may cause cancer, you CANNOT overdose on marijuana, you cannot die from marijuana, it is much less addictive than alcohol, there is almost no withdrawal symptoms, and you get much less intoxicated than alcohol on marijuana. There are countless websites that will support what I just said, but here's one www.drugwarfacts.org

Also, still on #2, if this law gets passed hemp will be legalized. Hemp is a wonderful plant. If you care anything about the environment, hemp is a much better alternative for producing paper and clothing.

3. We could legalize all drugs. I'm not 100% in support of this, but it's still better than limiting safe drugs that are only illegal because of lobbyists that have been around since the 30's trying to banish pot. Marijuana is one of the oldest drugs, I can't remember off the top of my head but it's been used for at least 4000 years.

Get your facts straight David. I really think the only people that should vote on this are people who have smoked at least once. Because it has shown that smoking pot isn't addictive, then the only reason they would keep doing so is because they realize it isn't that bad, and the positives outweigh any negatives (if you can name some that aren't also applied to alcohol I'll give you a cookie).

Reply to David Conway

Phrag

11/01/07 - 15:07

I think you view the effects of smoking marijuana a bit too harshly. Simply smoking marijuana does not mean that someone is wasting their life anymore than having a glass of wine makes you an alcoholic. Yes some people are wasting their lives while smoking marijuana, but I am not sure you can say all people would be living a much more productive life if they were to quit. There are also many people that use marijuana and live productive lives at the same time. If you want examples, you need only look at many popular musicians and entertainers who have admitted to smoking pot.

I believe the prohibition of marijuana, which places the majority of marijuana production under the control of organized crime, has caused more deaths than the use of marijuana alone.

The effects of alcohol abuse can actually be much more damaging to the body than the effects of marijuana abuse. I have heard of marijuana addiction causing people pain, anxiety and insomnia. These are horrible things to go through, but when compared to the possible effects of alcohol addiction, which include kidney failure and death, I think marijuana could reasonable be considered less harmful in the worst case scenarios.

Reply to David Conway

realist researcher – Sandpoint, ID

03/02/08 - 12:41

A God-given life. God not only gave life to humans, but also to animals and plants. In Genesis God told us that he gave us all seed bearing plants for our use. Some were for us to eat and some were for medical purposes. I don't know if you have ever been anywhere but to a doctor and a pharmacy, but some time you should try a health-food store. Most of the thing that are bought in a pharmacy for any array of illnesses are synthetic, not what god intended us to take. People can find a natural counterpart to the drugs that they are buying. You just have to know what each plant does. Secondly I have to wonder if you have ever been close to some one that is dying of cancer. If you have I am very sorry, I am not trying to offend you. My father-in-law died of cancer on 2000. We all watched him go from a normal healthy man to nothing but skin in bones in less than a year. Cancer patients are normally prescribed morphine or a synthetic version thereof. Morphine makes most people nauseous and makes them far more useless than I have ever seen marijuana make anyone. So, if you call that a waste of life try living your end days with insurmountable pain and on a drug that not only doesn't get rid of the pain, but makes you more ill than you were to begin with.
Does anyone realize that most of the money spent to stop this from becoming legal came from Dupont? They found a synthetic way to make plastic and wanted to stop hemp cultivation so they could make money and took marijuana right along with it.
How many unnecessary deaths has marijuana caused? If you know something that I don't I would love for you to inform me. All of the hoop-la of reefer-madness that was put forth in prohibition was never based on anything, and the government has yet to allow studies to be done to prove any of it correct or incorrect. However alcohol has claimed many lives and is extremely detrimental to the body and has been proven. So why is it still legal? I was a bartender for a few years, and I'll have to admit quite a rebellious teenager. I have spent plenty of time with people who drink and people who "get stoned". In my opinion people get far more mentally impaired from alcohol than from marijuana. The effect is not the same at all. I have tried both and have to say my choice of a relaxer would be marijuana over alcohol, but since it isn't legal I choose not to annesitize myself and live life the way it is. Unfortunately some people cannot do that due to pain and suffering. Also marijuana used to be legal and there was a lot less crime then. The people smoking pot were more relaxed and less likely to jump the gun. I have met people in my life that I would consider a danger to society if they didn't smoke. Bottom line, let them have it, it's their choice, or, I forget didn't God create man with free will?

STM

11/01/07 - 14:03

Legalization by the city is not going to do much. Look at the California Medical Marijuana issue. The state allows MMJ and the Feds are raiding and closing dispenseries constantly. The Feds do not care what your marijuana laws are. Marijuana is federally illegal and the DEA is hysterical about it. The DEA does not go after dangerous drugs just the sitting ducks in the MMJ dispenseries.

Reply to STM

11/01/07 - 14:19

Funny that you mention California. I live in California and it sure seems like pot is legal here to me. Yea sure you hear of a dispenser getting shut down now and then but by and large it is legal.

When you take the state and local law enforcement out of the picture it is, for all intents and purposes, legal. There just aren't enough feds in California to make a difference.

I think the feds are kinda funny carrying on about California and their pot while they have so many other pressing issues to deal with, like terrorists.

Reply to STM

Phrag

11/01/07 - 14:58

It is true that a change in city or state law is not going to directly change federal policy, but this is the path that is making the most progress. People have tried to change this policy from the top down, but those at the top seem too set in their ways to admit that a change is needed. This is seen time and time again in cases like the Ed Rosenthal trial and retrial, Gonzalez v. Raich, and the NIDA stonewalling of research requests by UMass Amhesrt.

Enacting policy change on city and state levels, while difficult, has resulted in much more progress. As more cities and states make changes to their own policies, the federal officials will be forced to react. They could choose to keep the status quo and expend an ever increasing amount of resources to fight against policies approved by their own citizens. They may choose to take notice of the policies, see their effects on the local population and decide to remodel their own if the results are helping society. I am hoping for the latter.

Chris Keith

09/28/07 - 20:15

This one should pass easily. You don't have to be a "Pot Head" to realize that enforcing Marijuana laws cost much more money and destroy more lives than to simply legalize it and leave the harmless smokers to their plant. Now if the rest of the country would wake up and follow our lead!!!

Kelly

09/28/07 - 08:21

Meth is a horrible problem, we should be spending our money on eradicating it and not worrying about a few smokers.

Reply to Kelly

Joe

11/01/07 - 18:28

Seems like jerry has had a bit too much to smoke.

Reply to

jerry

09/27/07 - 22:59

its about time someone getts with the times drug law with weed is just bad no need fort cops to b in the look for pot smokers ther are real crimes out there