Tag: news

Washington’s liquor control
board, charged with regulating that state’s newly legal marijuana
businesses, will soon begin issuing licenses to producers,
processors, and retailers. The applicants
include more than 30 would-be growers in Yakima, a city of about
93,000 in central Washington where the liquor control board also
plans to license five marijuana retailers. But this week the Yakima
City Council made it clear that none of those new businesses is
welcome,
approving a ban on cannabis suppliers by a 6-to-1 vote.

Can they do that? Yes, according to an opinion
issued last week by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
Unlike Colorado’s legalization initiative, Washington’s, known as
I-502, does not explicitly authorize local governments to ban
cannabusinesses. But neither does it explicitly say they can’t, and
Ferguson concluded that no such pre-emption is implied either.

“Under Washington law,” Ferguson notes, “there is a strong
presumption against finding that state law preempts local
ordinances.” Washington courts have approved local bans on
activities, such as hunting and motor boating, that are licensed by
the state. Ferugson says “a challenger must meet the heavy burden
of proving that state law creates an entitlement to engage in an
activity in circumstances outlawed by the local ordinance.” In
2005, for example, the Washington Supreme Court struck down a local
ordinance that banned smoking in areas where state law explicitly
said business owners had the discretion to allow smoking. By
contrast, Ferguson says, the marijuana regulations issued under
I-502 constitute “regulatory preconditions to engaging in such
businesses,” rather than “an entitlement to engage in such
businesses regardless of local law.”

Since Ferguson says local governments may impose explicit bans
on cannabusinesses, it is not suprising that he also concludes they
are free to impose prohibitive regulations, as long as the rules
can be said to promote “public safety, health, or welfare.” He
notes that I-502 anticipates local regulation of marijuana
businesses, saying “the issuance or approval of a license shall not
be construed as a license for, or an approval of, any violations of
local rules or ordinances,” including “building and fire codes,
zoning ordinances, and business licensing requirements.” So even if
the courts do not agree with Ferguson that local bans are
consistent with I-502, they might still approve restrictions that
amount to bans in practice.

In addition to Yakima, Pierce County and the cities of Wenatchee
and Mossyrock have banned marijuana businesses, while more than 20
others have imposed moratoriums that may be allowed to expire.
Since the state attorney general is taking the position that local
jurisdictions are under no obligation to accept growers,
processors, or sellers, challenging bans presumably will fall to
licensees. Brian Smith, a spokesman for the liquor control board,
says the agency has not yet decided how to handle applicants in
jurisdictions with bans.

Last week Sharon Foster, the board’s chairwoman,
said Ferguson’s opinion “will be a disappointment to the
majority of Washington’s voters who approved Initiative 502.” She
noted that local bans will “reduce the state’s expectations for
revenue generated from the legal system we are putting in place.”
Foster also argued that bans “will impact public safety by allowing
the current illicit market to continue.” In his opinion
Ferguson acknowledges that possibility. “We are mindful that if a
large number of jurisdictions were to ban licensees, it could
interfere with the measure’s intent to supplant the illegal
marijuana market,” he says. “The legislature, or the people by
initiative, can address this potential issue if it actually comes
to pass.”

Friday night’s theme episode of Fox Business Network’s The
Independents (9 pm ET, 6 pm PT, repeats at midnight) is an
attempt to sketch out what American health care will look like in
2014 and beyond. Kicking off the show is a fascinating interview
with Dr. Ron Paul, who describes why he got into medicine (hint: to
avoid killing people!), how government intervention has altered the
health-care market, what parts of your body you should be able to
sell, and whether he’d do it all again. You won’t want to miss
it.

Speaking of Ron Paul, here he is on Tuesday’s
Independents, talking NSA and Edward Snowden:

Also on the program will be a couple of doctors familiar to
Reason readers. First is Jeffrey A. Singer, the good
doctor for
liberty, talking about themes he explored in a classic 2013
magazine piece, “How
Government Killed the Medical Profession: As health care gets
more bureaucratic, will doctors go Galt?” Then Keith Smith, subject
of Reason.tv’s 2012 feature “Oklahoma
Doctors vs. Obamacare,” will explain how his insurance-free,
transparently priced clinic works in Obamacare America.

Tonight’s Party Panel wears lab coats: Dermatologist
Elizabeth Rosenthal and Cardiologist Steven
Reisman talk about their similar experiences with—but different
conclusions about—the Affordable Care Act. Another Mr. MD,
Cedars-Sinai liver/pancreas specialist
Nick Nissen, explains how the molecular revolution and advances
in surgical techniques are ushering forth a more promising future
in treating the worst cancers.

Finally, there will be some personal segments about how the
co-hosts’ various brushes with the health care industry have
informed their weird opinions about it. A certain French lady is
implicated.

Speaking of inappropriate personal comments, here is the “Two
Minutes Hate” segment from Wednesday’s show: 

Yes, that will be a regular feature, so keep ‘em coming, both in
the comments thread and on Twitter @IndependentsFBN.

A
Kansas court ruled on Wednesday that a sperm donor must pay child
support for his offspring, because he and the mother did not
conduct their transaction through a state-approved channel.

In 2009, Jennifer Schreiner and her then-partner, Angela Bauer,
wanted to have child but didn’t want to deal with the prohibitive costs
of having a doctor manage the artificial insemination. They posted
an advertisement on Craigslist looking for a man to donate his
sperm. William Marotta rose to the occasion.

Marotta had no intention of fathering the child. He signed
a contract with the couple to relieve himself of any parental
responsibilities. He handed over a plastic cup of sperm, and
Schriener and Bauer handled the insemination process from
there.

Schriener gave birth to a girl, and eventually applied for her
daughter to receive health insurance from the state. In an exchange
that Bauer
described as “threatening,” state officials demanded to know
the identity of the donor before allowing the child to receive any
benefits. The state
wouldn’t accept child support from Bauer, since she is not a
legal guardian.

The Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCP) contacted
Marotta, insisting that he be legally declared the girl’s father,
so he could pay back $6,000 in child support and then make all
future payments. The DCP and Marotta went to court in
2012.

Solidarity
from Shriener and Bauer and proof of their contract with
Marotta wasn’t enough for the Shawnee County District Court.
Judge Mary Mattiva ruled that the donor would have to bear the
financial burden of his biological daughter, because he gave his
sperm directly to the couple instead of a properly licensed doctor.
She explains:

In this case, quite simply, the parties failed to conform to the
statutory requirements of the Kansas Parentage Act in not enlisting
a licensed physician at some point in the artificial insemination
process, and the parties’ self-designation of (Marotta) as a sperm
donor is insufficient to relieve (Marotta) of parental rights and
responsibilities.

“The Marotta decision ‘appears’ to be a case of first impression
in Kansas, the judge said. That means a specific issue in the
ruling hasn’t been dealt with before in that court, and there isn’t
binding authority on the matter,” explains the
Capital-Journal.

Marotta’s lawyer was critical of not only the outcome, but of
the DCP’s behavior. “The cost to the state to bring this case far
outweighs any benefit the state would get,” he told CNN.

Marotta announced
today that he plans to appeal the decision.