Two measures that will shape the future of the cannabis industry in Sisters will appear on the November ballot.

Ballot measure 9-122 would allow licensed recreational and medical marijuana dispensaries to operate within the Sisters city limits, while measure 9-123 establishes a 3 percent tax on sales of recreational marijuana.

Sisters does not currently allow for medical or recreational marijuana sales or production. The city maintains license requirements prohibiting businesses that violate local, state or federal laws, which keeps marijuana dispensaries or processors out of the community.

However, Mayor Chuck Ryan said the city has been looking at the possibility of allowing recreational marijuana within city limits for several years. In light of the evolving requirements from the state government, along with shifts in approach at the federal level, Ryan said the current council wanted to be proactive in bringing the issue to voters.

“We knew the landscape was changing in regards to marijuana,” Ryan said.

If approved, the two measures are designed to work in conjunction with one another as well as restrictions that would cover marijuana-related businesses in Sisters, which were approved by the City Council in August. Along with a number of other restrictions, the rules approved by the city allow marijuana production, processing and other uses in the city’s light industrial areas as well the North Sisters Business Park, with certain restrictions, according to city documents.

Ryan said the council also prohibited marijuana-related storefronts along Cascade Avenue, the city’s main street. He added that the City Council didn’t want to alienate tourists by having the businesses dominate such a visible street.

“It’s kind of the gateway through the city,” Ryan said.

Measure 9-123 would apply a 3 percent tax — the highest allowable under state law — to sales of recreational marijuana. Ryan noted that one measure could theoretically pass while the other fails, though he said that was highly unlikely.

Measure 91, which legalized recreational marijuana at the state level after it passed in November 2014, was approved in Sisters by a narrow margin, according to data from the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office. However, Sisters voters also rejected a measure that would have allowed medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits that same year.

The City Council voted in late July to put the two measures on the ballot. Prior to that, Ryan said the council reached out to residents to get their thoughts on the divisive industry. He said comments ran the gamut from people who support the newly legal industry to those who are concerned with the possibility of crime and other negative impacts.

To learn more about the industry, Ryan toured several dispensaries in Bend and came away impressed with how buttoned-up the industry seemed to be, he said.

“We’re pretty confident with the professionalism of these businesses,” he said.

The measures will appear on the ballot for Sisters residents on Nov. 6.

—Reporter: 541-617-7818, shamway@bendbulletin.com