A sudden burst of medical marijuana dispensaries in Fort Collins has city officials weighing a temporary ban on sales tax licenses to new dispensaries.
The Fort Collins City Council on Tuesday is expected to consider an emergency ordinance that would impose a 10-month moratorium on issuing sales tax licenses to medical marijuana dispensaries to give city officials time to figure out how they might be regulated.
"Unfortunately, we do not have land-use regulations in place that address medical marijuana dispensaries," City Manager Darin Atteberry said. "I'm also concerned that we don't have criteria for individuals who are applying for the licenses."
The city has issued 26 sales tax licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries, or MMDs, since October 2008, including nine this month. Recently, inquiries about getting licenses for dispensaries have been averaging about 10 a week, Atteberry said.
City zoning regulations do not address where dispensaries may be located. Some licensed dispensaries have popped up in single-family residential areas, he said. Some are near schools. "I have concerns about that, and police services has significant concerns about it," Atteberry said.
In 2000, Colorado voters approved an amendment to the state Constitution that allows patients with certain conditions - including HIV, muscle spasms and chronic pain - to use medical marijuana as long as they get a doctor's approval and register with the state health department.
The law permits patients or their designated caregivers to grow up to six marijuana plants or possess 2 ounces of usable marijuana.
Recent decisions at the federal and state levels - including rules on how many patients a caregiver may treat - have led to growth in the number of medical marijuana dispensaries statewide. Municipalities and counties are scrambling to figure out how to deal with them at the local level.
Some places have decided to ban dispensaries, County Manager Frank Lancaster said. Others have established zoning regulations that limit where dispensaries may operate.
One issue not addressed in state law is setting criteria for individuals who would operate dispensaries, he said. "Some of these people wouldn't be able to get liquor licenses because of their criminal backgrounds," he said. "But it's OK for them to run an MMD."
Lancaster said local officials are working together to come up with consistent land-use rules and licensing criteria. The county, which operates under different state statutes than home-rule cities such as Fort Collins, is still weighing its options.
Officials are concerned that slapping restrictions on dispensaries in cities will drive operators into unincorporated parts of the county, he said.
Law enforcement officers have concerns the presence of pot dispensaries will lead to increased criminal activity, including robberies at the businesses, said Major Justin Smith of the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.
State legislators are likely to take up the issue of how to regulate the burgeoning industry during their upcoming session, Atteberry said. Whatever direction comes out of the Legislature would affect how the city proceeds with its regulations, he said.
Local dispensaries contacted for comment on the proposal did not immediately return phone calls.
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Coloradoan
Author: KEVIN DUGGAN
Contact: coloradoan.com
Copyright: 2009 Coloradoan
Website:City mulls moratorium on medical pot dispensaries,
The Fort Collins City Council on Tuesday is expected to consider an emergency ordinance that would impose a 10-month moratorium on issuing sales tax licenses to medical marijuana dispensaries to give city officials time to figure out how they might be regulated.
"Unfortunately, we do not have land-use regulations in place that address medical marijuana dispensaries," City Manager Darin Atteberry said. "I'm also concerned that we don't have criteria for individuals who are applying for the licenses."
The city has issued 26 sales tax licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries, or MMDs, since October 2008, including nine this month. Recently, inquiries about getting licenses for dispensaries have been averaging about 10 a week, Atteberry said.
City zoning regulations do not address where dispensaries may be located. Some licensed dispensaries have popped up in single-family residential areas, he said. Some are near schools. "I have concerns about that, and police services has significant concerns about it," Atteberry said.
In 2000, Colorado voters approved an amendment to the state Constitution that allows patients with certain conditions - including HIV, muscle spasms and chronic pain - to use medical marijuana as long as they get a doctor's approval and register with the state health department.
The law permits patients or their designated caregivers to grow up to six marijuana plants or possess 2 ounces of usable marijuana.
Recent decisions at the federal and state levels - including rules on how many patients a caregiver may treat - have led to growth in the number of medical marijuana dispensaries statewide. Municipalities and counties are scrambling to figure out how to deal with them at the local level.
Some places have decided to ban dispensaries, County Manager Frank Lancaster said. Others have established zoning regulations that limit where dispensaries may operate.
One issue not addressed in state law is setting criteria for individuals who would operate dispensaries, he said. "Some of these people wouldn't be able to get liquor licenses because of their criminal backgrounds," he said. "But it's OK for them to run an MMD."
Lancaster said local officials are working together to come up with consistent land-use rules and licensing criteria. The county, which operates under different state statutes than home-rule cities such as Fort Collins, is still weighing its options.
Officials are concerned that slapping restrictions on dispensaries in cities will drive operators into unincorporated parts of the county, he said.
Law enforcement officers have concerns the presence of pot dispensaries will lead to increased criminal activity, including robberies at the businesses, said Major Justin Smith of the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.
State legislators are likely to take up the issue of how to regulate the burgeoning industry during their upcoming session, Atteberry said. Whatever direction comes out of the Legislature would affect how the city proceeds with its regulations, he said.
Local dispensaries contacted for comment on the proposal did not immediately return phone calls.
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Coloradoan
Author: KEVIN DUGGAN
Contact: coloradoan.com
Copyright: 2009 Coloradoan
Website:City mulls moratorium on medical pot dispensaries,
