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Central Point officials say they will ask voters whether they want to ban recreational and medical marijuana sales in town. "During January we are going to refer the marijuana legalization to the voters and ask if they want to ban the dispensaries and sales," said Mayor Hank Williams, a critic of recreational marijuana. "We didn't make it too easy, so we don't have any dispensaries yet," Williams said. "Looking back at the vote, when they legalized it for the state, Central Point was mostly against it, with about 41 percent yes and 58 percent no. We think the voters have a chance to just ban it." The City Council will talk about referring the matter to voters during its meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, at City Hall, 140 S. Third St. "If we refer the issue to voters, there's an automatic moratorium until after the election," Williams said. Even if voters were to decide in November 2016 to ban sales of marijuana, personal use could not be controlled by the city, said City Administrator Chris Clayton. "The proposed ban would include any dispensing, manufacturing or processing operation related to marijuana," Clayton said. "What it does not ban is someone’s ability to grow and use recreational marijuana per state law/city ordinance." Central Point banned outdoor grows last May. Williams said the city and its police force have been lenient with growers for the initial growing season. "We are going to have our police start reminding residents what the rules are. They've got to, if they're going to grow, do it indoors. We let them get by in some instances this year because they had it in the ground before we banned the outdoor grows," Williams said. "We try to be reasonable. And I'm convinced there are probably some medical benefits to marijuana, but that doesn't mean everybody ought to be smoking it." Police Chief Kris Allison said officers had received training to assist them in identifying drug-impaired driving. The department also funded training for one officer to become a drug-recognition expert. Allison reported a slight increase in arrests for driving under the influence of controlled substances but said the department was waiting for additional data to identify any particular trends. Agenda information will be posted online at www.centralpointoregon.gov/meetings . Reach Medford freelance writer Buffy Pollock at [email protected].