Court ruling blocks Omak pot business

OMAK – Omak city officials say any marijuana store would violate a longstanding ordinance requiring businesses to comply with state and federal laws.

Montana Dutton – who won the only license in a state lottery for a marijuana retail store in Omak – says her life savings are now tied up in the newly remodeled Sage Shop, which she planned to have inspected and ready to open next week.

Both are now involved in a legal battle after Omak filed an emergency request in Okanogan County Superior Court last week asking a judge to prevent Dutton from opening her store. On May 1, Judge Henry Rawson granted it.

Then on Friday, Dutton’s attorney filed a counter emergency request with the Washington State Court of Appeals, asking the judges to put Rawson’s decision on hold until the appeals court judges decide whether to review the case.

Her lawyer, Liz Hallock, said Rawson ruled that Dutton’s business violates federal law and is therefore in violation of Omak’s business license requirements. She said he issued an injunction to prevent Dutton from opening without weighing the potential harm to either party.

Dutton, a licensed acupuncturist, spent tens of thousands of dollars to remodel the rented storefront at 903 Engh Road, installing a security system, glass cases and displays. She signed a long-term lease to rent the store beginning in January, and purchased insurance.

Unless the judges allow her to open, Hallock wrote, “Ms. Dutton’s financial investment, credit and life savings will be destroyed.”

Rawson’s decision, the appeal says, was “based on fear rather than fairness.”

It continued: “Her state regulated marijuana business was designed to undermine drug cartels and the black market through an intelligent, scientific, free-market based approach that perfectly aligns with federal enforcement priorities. Ms. Dutton is not a common criminal, a drug dealer or even a dissident: the people of Omak voted for Ms. Dutton’s operation, and their voices should not be silenced.”

Omak Mayor Cindy Gagne said the issue comes down to whether state laws can trump city laws. She said Dutton was initially denied a business license because, under Omak’s laws, the business itself would violate federal law.

“There’s no way for her currently to conform to our business license requirements,” Gagne said.

Dutton appealed, and after a public hearing the council upheld the administrator’s decision denying her business license.

Gagne said while a majority of Omak residents may have voted for Initiative 502 – the initiative legalizing marijuana – the only citizens that the council heard from were opposed.

Andi Ervin, executive director of the Okanogan County Community Coalition, said her organization is opposed to granting this or any marijuana store licenses in Omak, not based on the federal law but because there’s not a suitable location within Omak’s city limits.

The Sage Shop would be located next to a GameStop and a Burger King, and across the road from Wal-Mart. Ervin said by putting a marijuana retail store in a location that children frequently walk by, it normalizes the use of marijuana. “The big deal is exposure and access,” she said. “It’s not just school and home. It’s what do they see when they’re out in the community.”

Dutton said when Omak denied her a business license on the basis that it violates federal laws, and therefore Omak’s business licensing requirements, she went to the state Liquor Control Board and asked to move the business outside of Omak’s city limits. The state denied her request.

She said city officials won’t return her calls.

Dutton said by blocking her marijuana store, the city is turning away the tax funds that could be spent locally on health care and education. Instead, she said, the city will encourage the black market and a continuation of the heroin and methamphetamine problems that already exist – and access for children.

She said a majority of Omak residents, though, voted in favor of legalizing marijuana, and she believes lots of people would come to a City Council hearing if it was about prohibiting all pot businesses.

“We need the public to stand up and say, ‘We asked for this, and you work for us,’ ” she said.