Washington state is on the cutting edge of marijuana legalization, and discussion of the topic has created a lot of heat in Redmond. For the Planning Commission and City Council, there are several issues to be considered before the council takes action.

Here are questions I would like answered before the Planning Commission’s recommendation comes before the council.

First, what is the current availability of illegal marijuana in Redmond? The same people who are selling pot to our kids in our neighborhoods today (particularly around schools) are also selling to adults along with other significantly more harmful drugs, and have every incentive to upsell. Can legal marijuana reduce demand in the illicit market by taking away the adult market; reducing the total rewards for drug dealers?

Second, what are we legally allowed to do by the state? Zoning is a local matter, but we should have an accurate and up-to-date map illustrating the state minimum buffers and a list of facilities establishing the buffers. I have not seen this.

Third, what happened in cities that have allowed growing, processing and retailing of marijuana? Redmond intentionally delayed consideration of adopting buffers to be able to learn from other cities. The Tech Committee report, produced as part of the Planning Commission process, is devoid of data or studies related to these important questions.

Has crime increased in the vicinity of marijuana businesses? How has traffic safety been affected? Are neighboring businesses suffering from crime or vandalism?

Fourth, what do Redmond citizens want? The city has an online poll they say is designed to find out, but there are a few problems.

Of course, there are questions of statistical validity. Is it limited to Redmond residents? Does the survey allow only one response per person? How do we know that the responses are from adults, and what demographic information is gathered?

Redmond voters supported legalizing marijuana by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent. Did the online survey ask if people had changed their mind and why?

Unclear and unscientific data are worse than no data. We need to make sure the survey is valid before we use it as a guide.

Next, does it make sense to exclude or centralize marijuana uses in particular areas? The Tech Report offers several opinions regarding impact with no supporting evidence. For example, the Tech Report recommends concentrating all marijuana retail in about 1 percent of the city area. How will concentrating all retail trade in one small area of Redmond avoid the crime and property degradation that has gone along with concentrating businesses like this elsewhere? If there are supporting studies, we need to see them.

Sixth, when the council considers zoning, we typically look at the demand for products and services in those uses. I have not seen any data related to the adult demand for recreational and medicinal marijuana among Redmond residents. Both the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) and the University of Washington have gathered data on marijuana businesses. We should use all sources of factual or documented data.

Finally, if we do make zoning changes which create an opportunity for marijuana retail in Redmond, at what pace should the change take place? The original allotment for retail in Redmond was two. Subsequently the WSLCB proposed to increase the allotment to four, and is considering further increases. Redmond delayed consideration to gather impacts of experience in other cities. All of that experience is with the original allotments. We need to consider how we allow for future growth in our city.

The topic is in the good hands of the Planning Commission, but the buck stops with the City Council. When recommendations come to us, I want to see carefully considered responses made on factual information. At the minimum, the issues above should be documented with research. On such a highly controversial topic, we need to move beyond personal opinion if we are to achieve a result that is legally defensible, honors the wishes of the community and protects our kids.

Hank Myers is a Redmond City Council member.