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Dispensaries are legal in Dacono again. But it's not as simple as unlocking a door and saying "Welcome back."
Since local voters repealed the ban of medical marijuana businesses Tuesday, city officials have been busy. There's forms to revise and fees to set, ideally all by the end of next week, so that the city's three former dispensaries can be invited to re-apply.
It's busy on the business side, too. Brad Henson of Dacono Meds, who's also working on opening a dispensary in Sedgwick, noted that he's coming back from a dead stop. His license has been moved, his Dacono stock destroyed, his state application and background check have to be re-done from scratch.
"It's going to be rough," he said. "I've had lost wages since Jan. 1."
The repeal vote, which will be certified Monday, allows no more than three dispensaries in Dacono. That's how many there already were until Jan. 1, when a city ordinance forced Dacono Meds, MaryJane's Medicinal and Green Medicals to close their doors. Once applications are available, those three will have a 90-day head start to apply for a local license.
Neither MaryJane's nor Green Medicals could be reached for comment about their plans. Henson said he hoped to have his manager Karen Nab operate the Dacono location while he concentrated on Sedgwick.
"It really depends on the fee schedules for Dacono," he said. "I'm hoping they'll keep it reasonable."
The same ballot issue that invited the dispensaries back in also set standards they now have to follow. Among them:
The dispensary's activities have to be kept out of sight, and no marijuana or related equipment can be displayed in public view. Smoke, odors and other debris have to be contained inside the business.
Signs may not appeal to minors, may not advertise in a way "inconsistent with the medical use of marijuana," may not use sign wavers or twirlers, and can't be held by people within 1,000 feet of a park, recreation center or school.
The dispensary has to maintain security cameras and burglar alarms.
The dispensary has to pay sales taxes, application fees and license fees. Dacono hasn't set the last two yet; city clerk Valerie Taylor said the places she's researched have ranged between $1,000 and $5,000 for the initial application and $1,000 to $2,000 a year for a license.
The dispensary owner has to let the city inspect the place, both before the license is issued and during business hours or other times that work is going on.
There's a long list of places where dispensaries can't go, which effectively limits them to light industrial zones. The three former dispensaries temporarily have an exclusion from this, if needed to re-inhabit their old premises, but must find a suitable site by 2015. Dispensaries also can't buddy up and set up shop inside another dispensary.
Taylor said the turnaround time for business licenses would depend on how quickly the Colorado Bureau of Investigation finished the background checks of any applicants.
At a local level, she said, the applications would take more time for her office to process since so much more is involved -- among other things, applicants have to submit a business plan, a scale diagram of the business, a copy of the deed or lease, and permission for a full background check and investigation of the dispensary's financial records.
Even without that time, Henson said, it was still going to take a while to get going again.
"It took three years to build that clinic," he said. "But basically, we can recover, re-open and do it again."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: timescall.com
Author: Scott Rochat
Contact: Contact Us - Longmont Times-Call
Website: Dacono readies for return of medical marijuana dispensaries - Longmont Times-Call
Since local voters repealed the ban of medical marijuana businesses Tuesday, city officials have been busy. There's forms to revise and fees to set, ideally all by the end of next week, so that the city's three former dispensaries can be invited to re-apply.
It's busy on the business side, too. Brad Henson of Dacono Meds, who's also working on opening a dispensary in Sedgwick, noted that he's coming back from a dead stop. His license has been moved, his Dacono stock destroyed, his state application and background check have to be re-done from scratch.
"It's going to be rough," he said. "I've had lost wages since Jan. 1."
The repeal vote, which will be certified Monday, allows no more than three dispensaries in Dacono. That's how many there already were until Jan. 1, when a city ordinance forced Dacono Meds, MaryJane's Medicinal and Green Medicals to close their doors. Once applications are available, those three will have a 90-day head start to apply for a local license.
Neither MaryJane's nor Green Medicals could be reached for comment about their plans. Henson said he hoped to have his manager Karen Nab operate the Dacono location while he concentrated on Sedgwick.
"It really depends on the fee schedules for Dacono," he said. "I'm hoping they'll keep it reasonable."
The same ballot issue that invited the dispensaries back in also set standards they now have to follow. Among them:
The dispensary's activities have to be kept out of sight, and no marijuana or related equipment can be displayed in public view. Smoke, odors and other debris have to be contained inside the business.
Signs may not appeal to minors, may not advertise in a way "inconsistent with the medical use of marijuana," may not use sign wavers or twirlers, and can't be held by people within 1,000 feet of a park, recreation center or school.
The dispensary has to maintain security cameras and burglar alarms.
The dispensary has to pay sales taxes, application fees and license fees. Dacono hasn't set the last two yet; city clerk Valerie Taylor said the places she's researched have ranged between $1,000 and $5,000 for the initial application and $1,000 to $2,000 a year for a license.
The dispensary owner has to let the city inspect the place, both before the license is issued and during business hours or other times that work is going on.
There's a long list of places where dispensaries can't go, which effectively limits them to light industrial zones. The three former dispensaries temporarily have an exclusion from this, if needed to re-inhabit their old premises, but must find a suitable site by 2015. Dispensaries also can't buddy up and set up shop inside another dispensary.
Taylor said the turnaround time for business licenses would depend on how quickly the Colorado Bureau of Investigation finished the background checks of any applicants.
At a local level, she said, the applications would take more time for her office to process since so much more is involved -- among other things, applicants have to submit a business plan, a scale diagram of the business, a copy of the deed or lease, and permission for a full background check and investigation of the dispensary's financial records.
Even without that time, Henson said, it was still going to take a while to get going again.
"It took three years to build that clinic," he said. "But basically, we can recover, re-open and do it again."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: timescall.com
Author: Scott Rochat
Contact: Contact Us - Longmont Times-Call
Website: Dacono readies for return of medical marijuana dispensaries - Longmont Times-Call
