Nearly a fifth of Colorado's medical marijuana dispensary operators could be forced out of business in coming weeks because of new state rules barring some convicted felons from the pot business, federal drug authorities say.
The Drug Enforcement Administration reviewed requirements under a new state law to see how many felons could be forced out of business. The DEA estimates that up to 18 percent of current dispensaries may be shuttered by the no-felon rule.
After years of leaving marijuana rules mostly to local officials, the Colorado Legislature this year required medical marijuana centers to apply for state licenses by Sunday, an effort to bring some regulation to the state's anything-goes medical marijuana industry.
To get a license, dispensary owners have to pay hefty fees ranging from $7,500 to $18,000 and show that they haven't been convicted of felonies in the last five years. Owners with felony drug convictions face a lifetime ban from the business.
The felony figures, first reported by KUSA-TV, bear out officials' fears that former drug dealers and drug users have flocked to Colorado's nascent medical marijuana industry, made legal under a 2000 amendment to the state constitution. Including less serious crimes, the DEA says about 28 percent of pot shop owners have criminal records for drug offenses.
"There's people who are in the marijuana business strictly to make a profit and not what was portrayed to the voters, which was care for very sick and imminently dying people," said Kevin Merrill, assistant special agent in charge for the Denver field division of the DEA.
Marijuana advocates say the no-felony rule will likely just drive affected pot sellers back to the black market.
"I'm sure there are places that are going to close their doors, and what's sad is that a lot of people are just going to go back to the underground market, and that means no taxes to the state, no quality control over the marijuana product," said Danyel Joffe, a Denver lawyer who represents medical marijuana growers and sellers.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Springfield News-Leader
Author: Kristen Wyatt
Copyright: 2010 Springfield News-Leader
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
The Drug Enforcement Administration reviewed requirements under a new state law to see how many felons could be forced out of business. The DEA estimates that up to 18 percent of current dispensaries may be shuttered by the no-felon rule.
After years of leaving marijuana rules mostly to local officials, the Colorado Legislature this year required medical marijuana centers to apply for state licenses by Sunday, an effort to bring some regulation to the state's anything-goes medical marijuana industry.
To get a license, dispensary owners have to pay hefty fees ranging from $7,500 to $18,000 and show that they haven't been convicted of felonies in the last five years. Owners with felony drug convictions face a lifetime ban from the business.
The felony figures, first reported by KUSA-TV, bear out officials' fears that former drug dealers and drug users have flocked to Colorado's nascent medical marijuana industry, made legal under a 2000 amendment to the state constitution. Including less serious crimes, the DEA says about 28 percent of pot shop owners have criminal records for drug offenses.
"There's people who are in the marijuana business strictly to make a profit and not what was portrayed to the voters, which was care for very sick and imminently dying people," said Kevin Merrill, assistant special agent in charge for the Denver field division of the DEA.
Marijuana advocates say the no-felony rule will likely just drive affected pot sellers back to the black market.
"I'm sure there are places that are going to close their doors, and what's sad is that a lot of people are just going to go back to the underground market, and that means no taxes to the state, no quality control over the marijuana product," said Danyel Joffe, a Denver lawyer who represents medical marijuana growers and sellers.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Springfield News-Leader
Author: Kristen Wyatt
Copyright: 2010 Springfield News-Leader
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
