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The Las Animas County Board of Commissioners intends to vote at its Tuesday meeting on whether to ban medical-marijuana-related businesses and operations within Las Animas County.
Under House Bill 10-1284, approved by the state legislature in May, counties and municipalities have the option of placing approval for medical-marijuana-related businesses before voters, or allowing or banning the business based on the wishes of their ruling bodies.
“In the event that the county was to allow it, (the county) would only be able to impose whatever sales and use tax would be in place,” County Administrator Bill Cordova said last Wednesday. “In the event that the voters say ‘no’ to a sales and use tax for the nursing home (on November’s ballot), the county would not have any tax revenue whatsoever deriding (from the medical marijuana-related businesses).”
The county government first established a moratorium on medical-marijuana businesses last November, stating that it wanted time for the state to solidify its regulations regarding the businesses. The moratorium was renewed for an additional six months at the end of May.
“Some of those processes was that, if it were to be allowed, it would have to have some proportionate tax revenue (to cover regulatory costs),” Cordova said. “But, the county’s authority is very limited in terms of taxation, and even if a ballot question was to be written (regarding medical marijuana-related businesses) that had a tax component in it, it couldn’t be more than was otherwise applied (to other businesses).”
The commissioners had approved at their July 20 meeting two letters to the County Clerk and Recorder’s Office as an official notice that the county was considering placing the measures on the November ballot, the second being the sales tax for the possible acquisition of Trinidad State Nursing Home. Cordova had clarified at the July 20 meeting that the submission of the letters of intent to the County Clerk and Recorder’s Office was no guarantee of either measures appearing on November’s ballot, though the county approved the placing the nursing home sales tax on the ballot at their Aug. 31 meeting.
Additionally, HB 10-1284 created a licensing authority for medical marijuana businesses within the state’s Department of Revenue, similar to the regulatory format for the sale of alcohol. It also tightened the operational regulations for the dispensaries, such as limiting their hours of operation of such businesses and prohibiting the on-site consumption of medical marijuana products.
Senate Bill 10-109, also approved this year, directed the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to continue its oversight on caregivers and the issuance of medical marijuana cards to qualified patients. It also tightened regulations on the cards. The state is now required to enforce regulations requiring patients seeking cards to be examined and recommended by a licensed physician. Physicians providing the recommendations are also now prohibited from receiving compensation from the recommendations.
Despite the increased regulations, the Gov. Bill Ritter’s office recently announced that the state anticipated ending the year with 150,000 applications for the cards, an increase from 41,000 applicants in 2009. The $90-per-year-per-card revenue generated by the industry has allowed the governor’s office to recommend that monies in the Medical Marijuana Program Fund be used in the amount of $9 million in the governor’s Fiscal-Year 2010-2011 budget balancing plan.
The City of Trinidad, currently under a ban on medical marijuana-related businesses, had announced at its Aug. 11 council meeting that it would be continuing the ban for the foreseeable future. The city had amended its business-licensing ordinance last fall to enact an “effective ban” on medical marijuana-related businesses within city limits. Had the city council desired to have placed an item regarding the issue on the November ballot, a letter of intent would have been required to be sent to the Las Animas County Clerk and Recorder by July 23.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: trinidad-times.com
Author: Randy Woock, Staff writer, TTi
Contact: Trinidad-Times.com
Copyright: 2010. The Trinidad Times Independent
Website:County plans vote on marijuana-business ban
Under House Bill 10-1284, approved by the state legislature in May, counties and municipalities have the option of placing approval for medical-marijuana-related businesses before voters, or allowing or banning the business based on the wishes of their ruling bodies.
“In the event that the county was to allow it, (the county) would only be able to impose whatever sales and use tax would be in place,” County Administrator Bill Cordova said last Wednesday. “In the event that the voters say ‘no’ to a sales and use tax for the nursing home (on November’s ballot), the county would not have any tax revenue whatsoever deriding (from the medical marijuana-related businesses).”
The county government first established a moratorium on medical-marijuana businesses last November, stating that it wanted time for the state to solidify its regulations regarding the businesses. The moratorium was renewed for an additional six months at the end of May.
“Some of those processes was that, if it were to be allowed, it would have to have some proportionate tax revenue (to cover regulatory costs),” Cordova said. “But, the county’s authority is very limited in terms of taxation, and even if a ballot question was to be written (regarding medical marijuana-related businesses) that had a tax component in it, it couldn’t be more than was otherwise applied (to other businesses).”
The commissioners had approved at their July 20 meeting two letters to the County Clerk and Recorder’s Office as an official notice that the county was considering placing the measures on the November ballot, the second being the sales tax for the possible acquisition of Trinidad State Nursing Home. Cordova had clarified at the July 20 meeting that the submission of the letters of intent to the County Clerk and Recorder’s Office was no guarantee of either measures appearing on November’s ballot, though the county approved the placing the nursing home sales tax on the ballot at their Aug. 31 meeting.
Additionally, HB 10-1284 created a licensing authority for medical marijuana businesses within the state’s Department of Revenue, similar to the regulatory format for the sale of alcohol. It also tightened the operational regulations for the dispensaries, such as limiting their hours of operation of such businesses and prohibiting the on-site consumption of medical marijuana products.
Senate Bill 10-109, also approved this year, directed the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to continue its oversight on caregivers and the issuance of medical marijuana cards to qualified patients. It also tightened regulations on the cards. The state is now required to enforce regulations requiring patients seeking cards to be examined and recommended by a licensed physician. Physicians providing the recommendations are also now prohibited from receiving compensation from the recommendations.
Despite the increased regulations, the Gov. Bill Ritter’s office recently announced that the state anticipated ending the year with 150,000 applications for the cards, an increase from 41,000 applicants in 2009. The $90-per-year-per-card revenue generated by the industry has allowed the governor’s office to recommend that monies in the Medical Marijuana Program Fund be used in the amount of $9 million in the governor’s Fiscal-Year 2010-2011 budget balancing plan.
The City of Trinidad, currently under a ban on medical marijuana-related businesses, had announced at its Aug. 11 council meeting that it would be continuing the ban for the foreseeable future. The city had amended its business-licensing ordinance last fall to enact an “effective ban” on medical marijuana-related businesses within city limits. Had the city council desired to have placed an item regarding the issue on the November ballot, a letter of intent would have been required to be sent to the Las Animas County Clerk and Recorder by July 23.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: trinidad-times.com
Author: Randy Woock, Staff writer, TTi
Contact: Trinidad-Times.com
Copyright: 2010. The Trinidad Times Independent
Website:County plans vote on marijuana-business ban
