Marijuana shop not moving
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
January 6, 2011
The co-director of a medical marijuana dispensary in downtown Libby says his business isn’t moving, despite recent action by Libby City Council to suspend the shop’s business license and give it 60 days to relocate outside city limits.
"I have no plans to move anywhere," said Kevin Moore of The Helping Center. "We have a lot of patients in town. We moved there for a reason."
During a special meeting last month, the council voted 4-2 to suspend The Helping Center’s business license due to a clause in the city’s licensing ordinance barring the issuance of licenses to businesses that violate state or federal law. While marijuana is legal for medical purposes in Montana, it remains banned by federal law.
The council gave the business a 60-day grace period, which expires in early February, to move out of town before action is taken for operating within the city without a license.
During the December meeting, Mayor Doug Roll said The Helping Center’s business license application was "not very specific," listing "pain clinic" in the space provided for type of business and not mentioning marijuana.
Moore said last week that there was no intent to be obscure.
"I didn’t try to pull the wool over the city council or the business license office or the mayor or anybody," he said.
Moore said his attorney will be addressing the city council and is prepared to take legal action against the city.
"I don’t believe that I’m breaking the law," he said. "I believe the city council is, and the city attorney."
Moore said his business is licensed by the Montana Department of Health and Human Services and questioned whether the city has the authority to require its own business license. He pointed to a pending case in Helena in which a medical marijuana provider is contesting that city’s regulations.
"Sooner or later one of these cases, whether it’s theirs or ours, is going to set some kind of precedent," he said.
Roll acknowledged that some professions, including doctors and attorneys, are specifically exempted under state law from local business licensing requirements. He said a business license is not the same thing as a professional certification, however.
"It’s always been my opinion that we’re not licensing the profession, we’re licensing the business," he said.
Roll added that Moore’s business is not being singled out.
"We didn’t write this ordinance in reaction to this," he said. "It’s been on the books for years."
Based in the Flathead Valley, The Helping Center has outlets in Kalispell, Bigfork and Columbia Falls in addition to its shop at 620 California Ave. in Libby.
________________________________________
Editor's Note: See the January 4, 2011 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
|
