Curry finalizes cannabis ordinance for unincorporated areas

CLOVIS — With what it could control regarding legalized cannabis, Curry County on Monday finalized an ordinance governing how establishments could operate in the county’s unincorporated areas.

By a 3-1 vote, the commission agreed to require cannabis establishments to:

• Be 300 feet or more from a school or daycare center

• Be 1,000 feet or more from a church or house of worship, residence, public park, community center or government facility

• Be 1,000 feet or more from other cannabis establishments

• Operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 10 p.m. Sundays

• Not offer a drive-through service

• Pay $500 for a permit, with a $250 annual renewal

The requirements approved by the commission do not apply inside the Clovis city limits, which is covered by a separate city ordinance.

County Attorney Steve Doerr told commissioners a state bill that legalized recreational cannabis was 172 pages and covered nearly every detail, and the one page covering municipality input was mostly limited to distance requirements and hours of operation.

A separate measure to add cannabis to the banned substances list at county facilities in accordance with its clean air act passed 4-1.

Commissioner Chet Spear, who opposed marijuana in all respect, opposed both ordinances. Commissioner Seth Martin abstained on the vote regarding distance and time restrictions, noting family members stood to financially benefit from cannabis sales.

The roughly two hours of discussion over those restrictions repeatedly reached a common stalemate. Commissioners contemplated onerous restrictions, and Doerr warned any effort to treat marijuana more harshly than alcohol without data-based reasoning would create a tenuous legal position where the county treats citizens differently based on their drug of choice. In such an instance, Doerr said the county would lose, incur legal fees and watch their ordinance get rewritten in court.

“People may not want marijuana in Curry County,” Doerr said. “That’s not going to hold up in court.”

Spear repeatedly said he was opposed to cannabis because he cared about the safety of his constituents.

He recounted a time in his law enforcement days where he responded to a report of marijuana and upon arrival at the house found no food beyond Kool-Aid and a corner of the house with a 3-foot stack of diapers.

“This is what marijuana does to people,” Spear said. “We know it’s very dangerous. We know how it escalates to (more lethal) drugs. We know how it affects them financially.”

Sheriff Wesley Waller told commissioners enforcement would prove difficult with drivers under the influence of marijuana because of the lack of a quick, reliable test. The sheriff’s office is currently down six positions, Waller said, and adding cannabis as a legal substance means deputies would be dealing with another impaired driving threat. He asked the commission to look at cutting back closing times from the ordinance’s original times of 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday and midnight Sunday to 10 p.m.

“Just because the bars are closed doesn’t mean everybody has gone home,” Waller said. “We’ve got to deal with the same thing on public consumption.”

Spear later suggested moving closing times back to 8 p.m., but also said he’d allow just one hour of operation per day if he thought it would survive a court challenge. Doerr responded it would be shaky legal ground to mandate cannabis establishments close hours while restaurants and bars still had hours of alcohol service. The Curry County Events Center, for instance, holds a liquor license and vendors using the license have frequently served until midnight with last call at 11:30 p.m.

“I understand your concerns and I hope your constituents understand your concerns,” Doerr said. “Legally, I’m telling you you’re throwing yourself out there to be challenged.”

A restriction keeping cannabis establishments 1,000 feet away from each other was originally just 200 feet, but was increased as Spear aimed to keep the stretch of U.S. 60/84 between Clovis and Texas from essentially becoming a cannabis strip mall.

The permit fee of $500 with a $250 annual renewal may draw some debate, as surrounding municipalities have gone with $250 and a $100 annual renewal.

Commissioners argued that since the money goes into the county’s general fund, it could simply be directed to help defray sheriff’s office enforcement costs.

Two citizens spoke during the public hearing regarding cannabis distance and operation hours requirements. Local doctor Kenneth Lindsay said the county had to consider the negative impact of widening access to marijuana.

“The more access we have to any drug, including marijuana,” Lindsay said, “the greater access we have to the loss of the family unit.”

Commission Chair Robert Thornton said he understood Lindsay’s point but countered, “You don’t have to break a habit you don’t start; it’s part of the family unit to teach that.”

Lonnie Leslie also spoke, and said he shared concerns others had shared about an increase in impaired driving.