No new applications for medical marijuana dispensaries will be considered in Longmont for at least three months.
That will give city officials time to figure out what licensing, permitting and zoning regulations should apply to medical marijuana shops that are popping up around the city.
The Longmont City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to enact a 90-day moratorium on new dispensaries, making the ordinance retroactive to Oct. 2. The council is scheduled to take a final vote on the moratorium Oct. 20.
The moratorium will not affect the dispensaries already open in the city. But it does mean the city won't accept or process any application "for a permit, license, zoning or plan ... related to the operation of a business that sells medical marijuana within the city."
Doing so will give city staff time to develop new land-use and business-licensing regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries, according to the ordinance and city staffers.
Larry Hill owns The Apothecary, which opened at 1314 Coffman St. in February, likely making it Longmont's oldest dispensary.
He and other dispensary owners are working to form an association to self-regulate the medical marijuana industry, and Hill told the council Tuesday night they want to work with the city on any proposed regulations.
"It's a brand-new industry; there are no regulations from anywhere, (but) they're coming, so we want to be in on making the regulations to cover this industry," Hill said. "We want to work with the cities, the county and the state to do away with the gray area pertaining to medical marijuana."
But resident Doreen Johansen told the council that she worries about the safety of children who go to school or frequent businesses near pot shops. Kids can find adults to buy them alcohol and cigarettes, and she worries pot may be no different.
The laws concerning marijuana are so convoluted that they can be difficult for adults to understand, let alone children, Johansen said.
"Children are not mature enough to substitute their judgment for our own," she said.
But Scott Reach, owner of Stone Mountain Wellness, which opened in September, told the council that he and other owners take precautions to be safe and do their best to be discreet.
An actual business storefront creates a safe environment for patients and employees and cuts down on the number of people growing plants in their homes, he said.
While police know where dispensaries are, most people wouldn't be able to tell a pot shop from the outside, he said.
Dispensary owners also protect the safety of their employees, patients, neighbors and landlords. Reach's store doesn't allow use of the products on its premises, maintains full security and keeps the front door locked, only allowing people in who have appointments, medical marijuana cards and photo identification, he said.
Hill said that, as a grandfather with five grandchildren, he understands residents' concerns about dispensaries near schools. But he also noted that 75 years of marijuana being illegal has meant lost research into its medical attributes.
"I have been in this business now for 10 months and I have seen so many people helped by using (medical marijuana)," Hill said.
He added: "You never know: We may even find the cure for cancer hidden somewhere in the bottom of a weed."
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Longmont Times-Call
Author: Rachel Carter
Contact: Longmont Times-Call
Copyright: 2009 Longmont Times-Call
Website: Moratorium On Pot Shops Gets Initial OK
That will give city officials time to figure out what licensing, permitting and zoning regulations should apply to medical marijuana shops that are popping up around the city.
The Longmont City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to enact a 90-day moratorium on new dispensaries, making the ordinance retroactive to Oct. 2. The council is scheduled to take a final vote on the moratorium Oct. 20.
The moratorium will not affect the dispensaries already open in the city. But it does mean the city won't accept or process any application "for a permit, license, zoning or plan ... related to the operation of a business that sells medical marijuana within the city."
Doing so will give city staff time to develop new land-use and business-licensing regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries, according to the ordinance and city staffers.
Larry Hill owns The Apothecary, which opened at 1314 Coffman St. in February, likely making it Longmont's oldest dispensary.
He and other dispensary owners are working to form an association to self-regulate the medical marijuana industry, and Hill told the council Tuesday night they want to work with the city on any proposed regulations.
"It's a brand-new industry; there are no regulations from anywhere, (but) they're coming, so we want to be in on making the regulations to cover this industry," Hill said. "We want to work with the cities, the county and the state to do away with the gray area pertaining to medical marijuana."
But resident Doreen Johansen told the council that she worries about the safety of children who go to school or frequent businesses near pot shops. Kids can find adults to buy them alcohol and cigarettes, and she worries pot may be no different.
The laws concerning marijuana are so convoluted that they can be difficult for adults to understand, let alone children, Johansen said.
"Children are not mature enough to substitute their judgment for our own," she said.
But Scott Reach, owner of Stone Mountain Wellness, which opened in September, told the council that he and other owners take precautions to be safe and do their best to be discreet.
An actual business storefront creates a safe environment for patients and employees and cuts down on the number of people growing plants in their homes, he said.
While police know where dispensaries are, most people wouldn't be able to tell a pot shop from the outside, he said.
Dispensary owners also protect the safety of their employees, patients, neighbors and landlords. Reach's store doesn't allow use of the products on its premises, maintains full security and keeps the front door locked, only allowing people in who have appointments, medical marijuana cards and photo identification, he said.
Hill said that, as a grandfather with five grandchildren, he understands residents' concerns about dispensaries near schools. But he also noted that 75 years of marijuana being illegal has meant lost research into its medical attributes.
"I have been in this business now for 10 months and I have seen so many people helped by using (medical marijuana)," Hill said.
He added: "You never know: We may even find the cure for cancer hidden somewhere in the bottom of a weed."
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Longmont Times-Call
Author: Rachel Carter
Contact: Longmont Times-Call
Copyright: 2009 Longmont Times-Call
Website: Moratorium On Pot Shops Gets Initial OK
