While expressing sympathy for medical marijuana patients, SeaTac council members unanimously agreed Jan. 24 to extend for another six months a ban on medical cannabis dispensaries and collective gardens in the city.

City Attorney Mary Mirante Bartolo told lawmakers that as long as federal and state laws conflict with each other, the city should not place its employees in a position to be sued or arrested.

Without a moratorium and marijuana facility zoning regulations, a city employee could be sued for not granting a permit for a dispensary or garden, according to Bartolo.

On the other hand, it could be a felony for a city employee to issue a license for a business that is federally prohibited, she noted.

“The problem is not about not being empathetic toward suffering,” Bartolo said.

Dispensaries fill prescriptions for medical marijuana while gardens provide marijuana for members of a collective.

Police Chief James Graddon said that while King County prosecutor Dan Satterberg has indicated he is not interested in prosecuting medical marijuana cases, a federal task force recently raided facilities in White Center.

“They (federal officials) do pay attention,” Graddon observed.

Added Graddon, “It’s very complicated. It’s such a grey area for us.”

Bartolo said the issue is being discussed during the current legislative session but “we don’t know where this is going. They are just getting started.”

SeaTac resident Janice Taylor showed council members a picture of her late husband, who used medical marijuana to mitigate the symptoms of his cancer treatment.

She said medical marijuana patients should not be stereotyped as “dirty hippies.”

Taylor characterized the conflict as a matter of states rights versus the federal government.

“SeaTac should not stick its proverbial head in the sand,” Taylor declared. “You should care that the city is taking the easy way out. Being a leader takes courage.”

Later in the council discussion, Taylor sought to answer questions brought up by lawmakers, but Mayor Tony Anderson did not call her on.