Lincoln aldermen to vote on in-store recreational marijuana consumption

 

[December 02, 2019] 

Tuesday night, aldermen discussed the one-site usage of cannabis inside retail establishments, and appeared to be united in saying that the city should make on-site consumption illegal.

The topic was one of three regarding the legal sale of recreational marijuana in Lincoln. With the city recently agreeing that it would permit the sale of cannabis inside the city limits, the next step is to determine the parameters and set rules for usage as well as fines and fees.

Kevin Bateman led the discussion offering up his suggestions. He said first that the city should establish a licensing fee for the business that might come into Lincoln. He recommended $2,500 annually for the business license. He said this was in line with the liquor with gaming fee recently established by the city.

He then said that when the state first passed recreational marijuana laws, the law was written that the narcotic could only be used in the privacy of ones own home. However, the state has made some concessions that allow for in-store consumption via “sampling.” Bateman said that the municipalities had the option to go along with the concession or disallow it. Bateman said he was not in favor of allowing in store consumption and would like for the city to vote against that type of allowance.

Next he said the city needed to determine the fines for illegal sales to minors. He said that he would suggest that the fine be $2,500 to the owner of the establishment. This differs a bit from the tobacco and alcohol laws in that the fine is normally imposed upon the store clerk who sold the products.

Bateman also recommended fine for in-store consumption and also for selling “extra.” The state has set the total grams that may be purchased at any given time to a single customer. Fining for “extra” would mean that the business owner could face fines for not adhering to state allowances.

Bateman was asked about the dollar amount for said fines. He said he wanted them to be stiff and suggested a minimum of $5,000. City Attorney John Hoblit said that the city could also consider a graduated fine that started perhaps at $5,000 for the first offense, $7,500 for the second and $10,000 for the third.

City Treasurer Chuck Conzo asked if the state was going to set limits on the fines and also had there been any research to see what other communities are going to fine?

Lincoln Police Chief Paul Adams said that the state has not set those fines, and that cities will not be able to set fees that are higher than the state. He said right now the only laws and fines on the books are for possession. The fine for 30 grams is $2,500 and goes up from there to, for example, $25,000 for possession of 500 grams.

Ron Keller was doing some searching on the internet during this discussion and said he found a state code that said the state fee would be $5,000 non-refundable for the business license. Bateman said he thought that $2,500 would be adequate then for the municipal fee.

Lincoln Mayor Seth Goodman said he was in favor of a zero tolerance type rule. He said that while he had voted in favor of having retail establishments, he was most certainly not in favor of allowing in-store consumption. Also, he would like to see the council vote for a ‘one-and-done’ type law, where the first time a store violated city code it would lose its license.

Tracy Welch asked that Hoblit begin drafting the appropriate ordinances for fees and fines. The council would then review the drafts. Hoblit said that before he could start, he did need some guidance on what he would be writing. Bateman suggested then that the council vote this week on the in-store consumption. That vote would then give Hoblit some direction on which way to go with his draft documents.

The council has it on the agenda for tonight to vote to allow or disallow in-store consumption or sampling of recreational marijuana.

If the council votes not to allow in store consumption, then the next step would be to establish the repercussions for violating the city ordinance.

[Nila Smith]