What a difference two days make. The Paonia Town Council met on Tuesday, Nov. 10 with the trustees voting to table a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries within town limits.
They had two ordinances before them, one with a sunset clause and one without. But, with town attorney Jim Briscoe absent, and even though they had a lengthy fact sheet from the Colorado Municipal League (CML), the Paonia trustees decided to wait at least two more weeks to make a decision.
Weber wondered if the town had the right to have a moratorium when voters had approved a constitutional amendment about permitting use of marijuana for medical conditions.
Those conditions include cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS positive, cachexia, severe pain, severe nausea, seizures, including those that are characteristic of epilepsy, or persistent muscle spasms, including those that are characteristic of multiple sclerosis.
Amendment 20, a citizen initiated amendment, passed with 54 percent of the vote in the 2000 election. It became legal for a patient or a primary caregiver who has been issued a Medical Marijuana Registry identification card to possess up to two ounces of marijuana and not more than six marijuana plants. The amendment protects a patient, the patient's caregiver and doctors from prosecution "for the acquisition, possession, production, use or transportation of marijuana and related paraphernalia under certain circumstances.
On Feb. 25 of this year, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder stated the Drug Enforcement Administration "would no longer raid dispensaries that are legally established under state law." There are 14 states that have medical marijuana laws.
According to town clerk Barbara Peterson, Paonia has no current regulations regarding the dispensaries. Mayor Schwieterman noted that no business license is required in town.
Trustee Gretchen King questions whether Paonia Hydro, a proposed medical marijuana dispensary on Grand Avenue, would be grandfathered in, since it's owner, George Barker, already has a state license for the business and a trademark. He is prepared to pay the required $1 million liability bond.
Barker spoke at length at the council meeting including about how marijuana brownies had helped him with his medical condition. He had nearly died after surgery. He was in bed for two weeks and unable to eat. He had three bites of the brownie, and it was the first meal he could eat and keep down. He believes medical marijuana is a good alternative to prescription pain pills. Barker has been a business owner in Paonia for 43 years. He owns Paonia Liquors.
King said that Barker was clearly an upstanding business owner, but not everyone opening a dispensary may be. The town may need regulations.
The CML fact sheet said many municipalities were enacting a moratorium or enacting regulations regarding the dispensaries.
There were a number of people who spoke at the council meeting making it a lively and long session.
Weber made a motion to table the ordinance to receive further legal consultation. Lucien Pevec seconded. The motion carried with the votes of Weber, King and Pevec. Trustee Scott Morley voted against the motion.
Then on Thursday, Nov. 12, the Hotchkiss Town Council had the same two moratorium ordinances before them to consider along with another which would establish regulations of how many feet a dispensary would have to be from schools and churches.
Jay Ziegler addressed the council about his desire to have an alternative cancer treatment center in Hotchkiss which would include medical marijuana. His business would be called, Western Slope Alternatives. He was interested in purchasing the double-wide at 360 West Bridge Street for the treatment facility.
Town attorney Jim Briscoe has monitored hundred's of e-mails from community lawyers. He said most wanted to slow down the process of the dispensaries opening in their communities until the state legislature decides on regulations. One option under consideration is for the State of Colorado to grow and sell the medical marijuana. Another consideration is which agency will enforce the regulations once they are written. Will it be the Department of Revenue, the Department of Health or a pharmaceutical agency?
Hotchkiss and Paonia are statutory towns and are limited in their own authority to set up a licensing procedure. Briscoe said something like the state liquor license procedure would be the way to handle the issue. His opinion is that this is a state concern not a local community concern. "It makes sense to have a similar law throughout the state," Briscoe stated. He hopes an agency of the state will develop the regulations and have oversight of the dispensaries.
Trustee Tom Wills noted that any business not listed in the newly approved zoning ordinance was excluded and would require a special review to mitigate impacts. He stated the "most thoughtful thing to do is have a moratorium" on the dispensaries for 200 days. This would allow the state legislature time to develop their regulations, time for local citizens to comment and the trustees time to consider and write a reasonable ordinance.
Trustee George Brauneis said that Ziegler's proposal was as a true caregiver with a holistic program. "This is more than a dispensary," Brauneis said. "I hate to turn away business."
Wills made the motion to enact an emergency moratorium ordinance on medical marijuana dispensaries for 200 days. Wendell Koontz seconded. Brauneis voted against. Wills, Koontz, Gerald Pearson and Sheila Maki voted for the moratorium and it carried.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Delta County Independent
Author: Kathy Browning
Contact: Delta County Independent
Copyright: 2009 Delta County Independent
Website: Hotchkiss Enacts Moratorium On Medicinal Marijuana Dispensaries
They had two ordinances before them, one with a sunset clause and one without. But, with town attorney Jim Briscoe absent, and even though they had a lengthy fact sheet from the Colorado Municipal League (CML), the Paonia trustees decided to wait at least two more weeks to make a decision.
Weber wondered if the town had the right to have a moratorium when voters had approved a constitutional amendment about permitting use of marijuana for medical conditions.
Those conditions include cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS positive, cachexia, severe pain, severe nausea, seizures, including those that are characteristic of epilepsy, or persistent muscle spasms, including those that are characteristic of multiple sclerosis.
Amendment 20, a citizen initiated amendment, passed with 54 percent of the vote in the 2000 election. It became legal for a patient or a primary caregiver who has been issued a Medical Marijuana Registry identification card to possess up to two ounces of marijuana and not more than six marijuana plants. The amendment protects a patient, the patient's caregiver and doctors from prosecution "for the acquisition, possession, production, use or transportation of marijuana and related paraphernalia under certain circumstances.
On Feb. 25 of this year, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder stated the Drug Enforcement Administration "would no longer raid dispensaries that are legally established under state law." There are 14 states that have medical marijuana laws.
According to town clerk Barbara Peterson, Paonia has no current regulations regarding the dispensaries. Mayor Schwieterman noted that no business license is required in town.
Trustee Gretchen King questions whether Paonia Hydro, a proposed medical marijuana dispensary on Grand Avenue, would be grandfathered in, since it's owner, George Barker, already has a state license for the business and a trademark. He is prepared to pay the required $1 million liability bond.
Barker spoke at length at the council meeting including about how marijuana brownies had helped him with his medical condition. He had nearly died after surgery. He was in bed for two weeks and unable to eat. He had three bites of the brownie, and it was the first meal he could eat and keep down. He believes medical marijuana is a good alternative to prescription pain pills. Barker has been a business owner in Paonia for 43 years. He owns Paonia Liquors.
King said that Barker was clearly an upstanding business owner, but not everyone opening a dispensary may be. The town may need regulations.
The CML fact sheet said many municipalities were enacting a moratorium or enacting regulations regarding the dispensaries.
There were a number of people who spoke at the council meeting making it a lively and long session.
Weber made a motion to table the ordinance to receive further legal consultation. Lucien Pevec seconded. The motion carried with the votes of Weber, King and Pevec. Trustee Scott Morley voted against the motion.
Then on Thursday, Nov. 12, the Hotchkiss Town Council had the same two moratorium ordinances before them to consider along with another which would establish regulations of how many feet a dispensary would have to be from schools and churches.
Jay Ziegler addressed the council about his desire to have an alternative cancer treatment center in Hotchkiss which would include medical marijuana. His business would be called, Western Slope Alternatives. He was interested in purchasing the double-wide at 360 West Bridge Street for the treatment facility.
Town attorney Jim Briscoe has monitored hundred's of e-mails from community lawyers. He said most wanted to slow down the process of the dispensaries opening in their communities until the state legislature decides on regulations. One option under consideration is for the State of Colorado to grow and sell the medical marijuana. Another consideration is which agency will enforce the regulations once they are written. Will it be the Department of Revenue, the Department of Health or a pharmaceutical agency?
Hotchkiss and Paonia are statutory towns and are limited in their own authority to set up a licensing procedure. Briscoe said something like the state liquor license procedure would be the way to handle the issue. His opinion is that this is a state concern not a local community concern. "It makes sense to have a similar law throughout the state," Briscoe stated. He hopes an agency of the state will develop the regulations and have oversight of the dispensaries.
Trustee Tom Wills noted that any business not listed in the newly approved zoning ordinance was excluded and would require a special review to mitigate impacts. He stated the "most thoughtful thing to do is have a moratorium" on the dispensaries for 200 days. This would allow the state legislature time to develop their regulations, time for local citizens to comment and the trustees time to consider and write a reasonable ordinance.
Trustee George Brauneis said that Ziegler's proposal was as a true caregiver with a holistic program. "This is more than a dispensary," Brauneis said. "I hate to turn away business."
Wills made the motion to enact an emergency moratorium ordinance on medical marijuana dispensaries for 200 days. Wendell Koontz seconded. Brauneis voted against. Wills, Koontz, Gerald Pearson and Sheila Maki voted for the moratorium and it carried.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Delta County Independent
Author: Kathy Browning
Contact: Delta County Independent
Copyright: 2009 Delta County Independent
Website: Hotchkiss Enacts Moratorium On Medicinal Marijuana Dispensaries
