Act while you still can.
I-502 legalized possession/use of marijuana. However where it could be grown/processed/sold was left to the individual counties and cities. Snohomish County is deciding that now. A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. Please plan to attend, or before Wednesday send an email to contact.council@snoco.org stating “not now” for the permitting of commercial marijuana operations on family-dense R5 zoned parcels of land.
More needs to be known about the impact of commercial marijuana operations within non-commercially zoned, rural neighborhoods/communities before we enable the development of problems that could be irreversibly costly. Potential risks: dramatically lowered property values; increased crime; erosion of rural character/culture/values. We need to know if these fears are real or imagined before we potentially confirm it through an unnecessary experiment here, now.
Instead, let’s learn about the negative/positive impacts from the 150-plus cities in Washington that have approved it within their areas. Numerous studies and new reporting guidelines will now provide data/trend analysis in 2015, enabling a much deeper understanding of “true” impacts vs. “blindfold” wishful thinking, political rhetoric, or fear-based projections. To date, facts are limited and conflict. The truth needs to be sorted out before dangerous, uninformed mistakes are made.
Commercial drug operations within non-commercially zoned R5 family neighborhoods could potentially and unnecessarily impact the lives, culture and property values for thousands. It is unwise and wrong. We need to extend the moratorium at the very least, and let factual data guide informed decisions that are fact-based, least harmful and “right.”
Let the council know you expect prudence, caution and facts before the council negatively impacts rural culture to a degree that reversing the damage is impossible. If you do nothing, as of April 1, a 25,000 square-foot marijuana operation could be your new neighbor — legally.
Mary Harwood
Snohomish
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