The City Might Fine Pot Dispensaries that Open at Midnight Thursday

Legal weed sales don't start for three days, and already the city's harshing Portland's collective mellow.

City officials are threatening to fine any of the 120-plus Portland medical marijuana dispensaries planning to usher in the beginning of recreational sales at midnight, October 1, when the state says it's legal for anyone over the age of 21 to buy up to a quarter ounce at a time.

There's currently nothing on the books outlawing dispensaries opening at odd hours—at least one Portland medical shop runs 24/7—but Portland City Council is looking to pass a raft of new pot regulations on Wednesday, after twice delaying a vote because of problematic language in the law. The regulatory scheme the city's proposing involves costly licenses for pot businesses ($5,150 for a recreational store to apply for a receive a license) and strict regulations on how they operate, including a provision that limits operating hours from 7 am to 9 pm.

The licensing process won't begin until December, but the city is warning dispensaries to heed the rules before then. Once council passes the new rules—something commissioners have said they're planning on Wednesday—"medical dispensaries currently operating within Portland, including those selling limited amounts of recreational marijuana products, will need to abide by the operational requirements," according to a statement the city's Office of Neighborhood Involvement posted this morning.

Victor Salinas, the city's marijuana program specialist, says that means the city would seek to fine dispensaries that begin selling recreational pot at midnight, something many have planned.

"They would be in violation of city ordinance," Salinas says. He couldn't say how large a fine is being discussed.

The city's announcement provides clarity to dispensaries that have been wondering how to proceed on Thursday.

"We would like to [open at midnight], however right now we don't know what to do," Don Morse, owner of the Human Collective, said this morning, before the city released its statement. Morse said he'd spoken with Theresa Marchetti, who oversees ONI's regulatory programs, who "said they would appreciate us abiding by the guidelines."

But Morse's attorney had advised that might not have been legally required, he says, since the licensing process isn't up and running yet.

The city's announcement that it expects dispensaries to immediately comply with the new regulations doesn't just hamper Black Friday-esque pot purchasing events. It's also going to force some dispensaries to immediately change their operating hours, with relatively little notice.

Of course, anyone hoping to buy their first legal bag in Oregon sooner can probably head out of town.

"The people I know who are outside the Portland area definitely are planning on opening up at 12:01," says Morse, who also directs the Oregon Cannabis Business Council.

Update, 3:08 pm: The language of the city's proposed rules for marijuana dispensaries raises questions about how it can enforce those rules in the short term. ONI has said it won't even start accepting applications for marijuana licenses until December. The language of the law says: "Licensee must maintain hours of operation no earlier than 7a.m. and no later than 9p.m."

So if a pot business doesn't even have the ability to be a "licensee" for two months, how are they going to face fines? We've put the question to ONI officials.