Lebanon City Council votes to tax marijuana

The Lebanon city council enacted a 10 percent sales tax on recreational and medical marijuana at its meeting on Oct. 23.

Currently, both taxes change nothing in Lebanon because the city enacted a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries and recreational marijuana is illegal in Oregon.

“None of this is relevant today, except getting something on the books just in case,” City Councilor Rebecca Grizzle said.

If passed, ballot measure 91 will legalize the use and sale of recreational marijuana in Oregon. Oregon is set to vote on that measure by Nov. 4.

That measure states that cities “shall not pass” a tax on marijuana, city attorney Tre Kennedy said.

So several cities in Oregon are setting taxes on recreational marijuana before the Nov. 4 vote, Kennedy said. This is a issue that would likely be argued in court.

Measure 91 states that citizens may pass a ballot measure to ban the sale of marijuana in a specific city, Kennedy said.

Lebanon resident Wyatt King said during citizen comments that the city should tax the sale and growth of all members of the cannabis family in Lebanon.

“Legalization is coming to us whether we support it or not, but we do have an opportunity before us to benefit from and control this coming tide of legalization” King said. “A tax on the sale and growth of all plants of the cannabis genus will give us a rudder and a fueled motor for steering Lebanon onto the proper course.”

A moratorium on any type of marijuana will not last and would prevent the city from collecting state revenue funds, he said.

“But worst of all, a moratorium will allow and foster a continued black market presence, leaving us in the hands of unregulated dealers who might sell to children and will definitely offer far more dangerous drugs to our citizens,” King said.

Accepting and taxing marijuana will create the opposite effect, he added.

Taxing all cannabis products would help a court argument because it would include marijuana plants as a wider tax instead of just a sales tax, King said.

“And it’s not like it’s going to hurt is if they do throw it out,” King said.

The council did not create or vote on a measure to tax the growth of marijuana.

Law enforcement issues

City Councilor Robert Furlow said the city would need to do a cost analysis to make sure the city is taking in enough funds from a sales tax to deal with marijuana-related issues for law enforcement.

Grizzle said legalization may cut down on those issues.

“It is possible that the legalization of marijuana will actually relieve a little bit of burden,” Grizzle said.

Part of law enforcement job is enforcing a ban on marijuana, she said.

“Once you’re not enforcing that, there’s not a huge amount of dangerous stoners,” Grizzle said. “They’re highly unmotivated.”

Lebanon Mayor Paul Aziz disagreed.

“I think you’re being a little naive on that because driving under the influence is going to become greater,” Aziz said.

Furlow said he doesn’t want general funds being used for controlling legal marijuana.

“We do get general tax revenue to cover services as well as the fees that the city charges,” Furlow said. “In this particular case, I don’t see a public good, so therefore, I would not want general tax revenue to underwrite the expense of managing the system. This system needs to bear its full cost.”

City Councilor Floyd Fisher asked Lebanon Police Chief Frank Stevenson if police officers tell a difference between the abuse of marijuana or general use.

It isn’t currently possible, Stevenson responded.

“As of right now, ‘no’ because everything is illegal, even the medical portion, we don’t really track,” Stevenson said. “As far as determining abuse, right now, it’s all abuse because it’s illegal.”

The legalization may take away from police officers enforcing current possession laws, he said.

“But it’s going to open up the door for other issues too,” Stevenson said. “I think it’s going to be interesting.”

Stevenson said he wasn’t sure exactly how marijuana laws would work if Measure 91 passes.

“There are a lot of unknown questions out there for law enforcement when you’re talking about the legalization of marijuana,” Stevenson said.

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Lebanon City Council votes to tax marijuana