Voters in Yellowstone County will not be asked to vote again on the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana, but they will be asked if they like the idea of taxing its sales by 3 percent.
With one county commissioner absent, the two remaining county commissioners, Don Jones and John Ostlund had a split vote about whether to hold a special election for voters to consider prohibiting non-medical marijuana in the county. The tie resulted in the failure of the motion. (Commissioner Denis Pitman is on vacation.)
Commissioner Ostlund said it was one of the most difficult decisions he has had to make, since he really doesn’t support its sale, but he also doesn’t believe it’s right to re-vote just because you don’t like the outcome.
The successful statewide initiative that put the issue of recreational marijuana before the State Legislators passed in Yellowstone County by 1100 votes, or 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent, last fall. The State Legislature then crafted HB 701, which allows counties and municipalities to make the decision based on their jurisdiction’s outcome of that vote, or to place the matter before voters again.
Commissioner Jones said he supported having a re-vote because the initiative was only about putting the issue before the state legislature, and the language of the initiative was misleading about where any marijuana sales tax revenues could be directed. The initiative could not “earmark” revenues as it tried to do, said Jones. Only the state legislature can do that, he said.
In comments before the county commissioners, prior to the vote, City Councilwoman Pam Purinton urged commissioners to put the issue on the ballot again, because she believes a lot of people believed the language of the initiative and thought the tax revenues would go to help fund local government needs and programs. Even at that, she said, they were being misled. In talking to people in other communities in states which have already legalized recreational growing and selling of “pot,” they have discovered for every dollar collected in taxes, taxpayers are having to spend $4.50 in dealing with the negative impacts of drug use and the associated crime.
Ostlund said he believed that Purinton’s numbers were probably right when it comes to the benefits of the tax revenues versus the costs that the city and county will have to bear with the escalation of illegal drug use, and the crime and health issues associated with the issue. Because of that, “I am not a proponent,” he said, “but I do think we have a process we have to respect.” He noted that even if recreational marijuana were rejected by the voters “we are still going to have medical marijuana.”
HS 701 also allowed counties to consider imposing a local-option (sales) tax on marijuana sales. Commissioners Jones and Ostlund were in agreement about putting a request for a 3 percent tax on marijuana sales on the ballot for voter approval. If voters approve the ballot measure, the tax would go into effect 90 days later.
Fifty percent of the tax revenue would be retained by Yellowstone County, 45 percent would be apportioned to municipalities on the basis of population as a percentage of total county population. The local governments may use the revenues in any manner that they are authorized by law to do. The remaining five percent would be retained by the Montana Department of Revenue to defray costs associated with administering the tax.
The City of Billings could still find the choice of legalizing the growing and sale of marijuana on the ballot in November if the City Council votes to allow residents to reconsider the matter. City voters passed the ballot initiative by over 4,000 votes. The city council will take up the matter during their meeting this coming Monday evening.
Numerous opponents and proponents spoke to the commissioners during the hearing. Lance Parks asked that the industry in which he is involved be given a chance to prove itself. He added that he would like to have a re-vote “on a lot of things.” He said that he believed that the proposal to put the matter on the ballot is an attack on small business.
Susan Stanley commented that her daughter has been in the business of producing medical marijuana since 2010. She said that they appreciate the fact that the decisions being made about recreational marijuana are being kept separate from the medical marijuana business.
Another speaker in favor of recreational marijuana said that not to allow it would hurt Billings. The business will generate investment and revenue and jobs, he pointed out. He went on to say, “There is no keeping us away. . . because it would still be legal as a drug.” He pointed out that it would be better to allow the regulated sale of the product to discourage black market sales and for safety reasons. The state, he said, has gone to great lengths to make sure the production, processing and packaging of the drug is done in a safe way – such safeguards would not be in place if it remained as just a black market alternative.
Police Chief Rich St. Johns spoke in support of the re-vote. He said that what will happen to the community with the legalization of recreational marijuana is known. It has already been legalized in four other states and the city has investigated as to their experience. Marijuana, he said, has expanded the use of other, illegal drugs, in those communities and as illegal drug use has escalated so has every aspect of crime. There is more homelessness in those areas, he said, and there has been an increase in DUI citations and traffic accidents.
Lisa Bennett spoke to say that she relocated from Eagle County in Colorado to Billings largely because of the impact of legalized recreational use of marijuana in that state. She said that while she didn’t have much to say about other aspects of the issue, the smell is a huge issue. “For miles around a facility you can smell it,” she said, “even a dispensary, you can smell it in other stores.”
She added that surveys of the use of marijuana among school kids in Eagle County indicated that the number of school age kids who had tried marijuana went from 15 percent to 85 percent – which shouldn’t be surprising given that they see the stores, the existence of which sends a “psychological” message that it must be OK. “That scares me,” she said.
