>>>>>>Colorado Medical Marijuana Laws are changing<<<<<<

[Mr.Sputnik]

Well put sellout. I can't wait for all of the mafia punks who borrowed money from richer mafia to open dispensaries to shut down and get their legs broken. it's a growers market and everyone else in the business HATES and DESPISES this fact. I wouldn't teach too many people how to do what you do (or at least teach at a basic level) as you're just making more competition for yourself in the end. The law is written to benefit CO growers most. Sweet!

$3,200 a lb is 50% retail @ $50 1/8th, pretty standard retail pricing markup. I know guys still getting $4,000, but they have to wait a month to get paid through their distributor.

Banned towns? Whatever, it allows for caregivers to take up the slack and go over 5, fine by me.

EDIT: or cities and counties can do what the springs is about to do and put it to a vote. I don't see commercial MMJ as a "right" but as a "privilege".

 

[kuz]

I read all ten pages of this, and not once has anyone mention the new legislation removes taxes on the herb in lieu of these new fees, which allow you to simply pay more to grow more plants.

Patient fees? They are going to be used for substance abuse programs, and probably not how mj could replace many less safe drugs.

Dispensary still collects sales and pays income tax. They might smack you with a big license fee, but it wont be long until the general assembly decides its not that important to have the armed auditor sitting in your shop observing things all day, and find a better place to spend your fee money.

1284 is just an excuse to get in your wallet. If the new state agency sets up fees based on sq ft of grow space or plant count i could buy this "pay more grow more" concept.

 

[sky high]

But..like...doooods...I thought pot was legal in Breck and folks could do whatever they wanted?


Breckenridge adopts moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries

Summit Daily staff report

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — Breckenridge Town Council on Tuesday unanimously passed an ordinance imposing a nine-month moratorium on the acceptance and processing of applications for new medical marijuana dispensaries and grow operations in Breckenridge.

This moratorium does not affect existing dispensaries and is effective immediately.

Council members expressed concern about the growing number of dispensaries licensed to operate in Breckenridge. Another concern was that the town would be flooded with new applications before the July 1 deadline from Colorado House Bill 10-1284, which regulates the commercial sale and growing of medical marijuana.

This moratorium will allow the town to study the effects of state laws as well as the rapidly growing industry in Colorado, and will allow the town to make any needed changes to the its existing ordinance in light of the new state laws, town officials said.

Said the town: The council recognizes that this is a unique industry — as possession of marijuana remains a federal offense — and feels it is in the best interest of the community to further study the recently adopted state laws.

On Sept. 22, 2009, the council adopted regulations for dispensaries in town limits. There are six dispensaries operating in town, and one pending application submitted before Tuesday. The moratorium does not have an effect on the currently licensed dispensaries or applications submitted before Tuesday.

 

[sky high]

Fuckin' clowns...

TWO CHARGED IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA FORGERY:

Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey has formally charged a man and a woman accused of forging medical marijuana doctor referral forms and selling marijuana. Stefan Zittel, 20, and Faith Shirley, 18, are charged with forgery, attempt to influence a public servant, distribution/sale of marijuana and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. In late May 2010, the Denver Police Department began an investigation into a Craigslist ad that offered medical marijuana doctor referral forms. The charges filed today allege that Zittel and Shirley sold forged forms and conspired in the illegal sale of marijuana. Shirley remains in the custody of the Denver Detention Center; her bond is set at $5,000. She is scheduled to be formally advised of the charges Friday at 10:30 a.m. in Denver County Courtroom 472W. Zittel has been released from custody on $5,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in Denver County Court, room 472W, Friday at 1:30 p.m.

"Bayliff...whack his pee-pee"

 

[altitudefarmer]

hope those two don't breed, Sky. I had no idea that "influencing a public servant" could get you in trouble. HMMMM... I better stop writing letters to my reps...

Breck has 6 dispensaries; think they might not want to be known as the Pot vacation capital of the US? How many dispensaries does a little mountain town actually need? The street dealers and lift operators do a great job of taking care of the tourists' "medical" needs... lol

 

[sky high]

Unfortunately they aren't alone in their stupidity or greed when it comes to MMJ in Colorado...

Re Breck....

But....doood....like....um....isn't this whole MMJ thing >>really<< all about making pot available to >anyone who wants it< who comes here for a 3-day ski trip?

Yeah, alt....the letters are starting to show up in the local/regional papers from piss-off tourons who say they won't be coming back because of the many "pot" shops on Main Street and the (occasional) open display of marijuana use in town.

How many are needed? Um....none. Folks were doin' OK before the dispensaries came in... and folks will be doin' OK after the "new" wears off and folks get tired of paying street prices for meds and find other more reasonable priced meds elsewhere.

gonna be interesting to see how it alll shakes out....yup. Either way, I'll be ready.

s h

 

[another_sellout]

KUZ- under the new law, as a medication, the herb will have no at the counter sales tax as of August first. They're after your money, for sure, but that's why all the fees have sprouted up, and I'm not sure that the section that places control in local hands won't add more. I know Mendocino had imposed the Zip Strip program back in about '05 as a way to get $25 more out of each plant, and a sheriff would come out and tag your plants to keep your numbers straight. Don't tell The Man about that one.

 

[sky high]

More from Sean Paige:

Page by Paige
Analysis and commentary by LLO Editor Sean Paige

Why bother with a ban?

June 24, 2010

The economic arguments for licensing, regulating and taxing medical marijuana -- see related news stories here and here -- won't make a dent with prohibitionists. They are on a moral crusade to prevent the corruption of Colorado Springs youth, by pushing medical marijuana back into the shadows. That this will deny medical marijuana patients their constitutional rights, and get the city sued, while doing nothing to curb teen drug use, is of little consequence to them. Crusaders can see no shades of gray.

But those fretting over the prevalence of medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado Springs need only be patient. Many of these businesses won't be around a year from now. They'll have been killed-off by regulation or competition.

One cause of death comes naturally in a capitalist system, with competition separating the good operators from the bad. Boom almost always leads to bust; that will happen here, too. Too many suppliers chasing a limited number of patients (and it is limited, despite the recent surge in red card applications) will sooner or later thin the herd. I trust in the market to solve many MMJ-related "problems," if given time to operate and evolve. But that requires a degree of patience, and understanding of markets, that prohibitionists lack.

The second cause of death -- death by regulation -- is more objectionable, in my opinion, because it is government-induced and largely unnecessary. Some reasonable local controls make sense, given the newness and sensitive nature of this industry. But most regulation is excessive and blindly destructive; it's imposed for the ego-gratification of politicians and the job security of regulators. It pretends to "fix" what isn't broken, to protect the public from a phantom menace. An example of this dynamic at work can be found in this article from the Boulder Camera, which details the struggles that city's dispensaries are having trying to comply with a spate of new regulations imposed by the state.

"Boulder-area providers of medical marijuana are scrambling to comply with new state regulations that require them to grow most of their own pot, keep detailed records of all transactions and apply for state licenses through a process that includes criminal background checks.

The new rules, signed into law by Gov. Bill Ritter earlier this month, are predicted to put at least half of the state's 1,100 medical marijuana dispensaries out of business.

Local dispensary owners agree their numbers soon will be fewer, but each business owner is doing everything possible to be one of the survivors.

"When I look six months down the road, we're either going to be very successful because we made it through this, or we're going to be out of business," said Ryan Hartman, owner of Boulder Wellness Center on Arapahoe Avenue.

The biggest hurdle for Hartman is the requirement that dispensaries grow 70 percent of their own marijuana by Sept. 1. Hartman doesn't have the resources to hire employees right now, and he and his partners -- his wife and another couple -- are working "triple-time" to ramp up what had been a very small growing operation.

The new rules also require that dispensaries -- called "medical marijuana centers" -- have a local license by July 1 and apply for a state license through an as-yet-undetermined process by Aug. 1. The state license requires criminal background checks for all owners, officers and employees and calls for detailed security and record-keeping measures to account for all the marijuana that moves through a center.

"I think ultimately the goal of the legislation is to centralize the industry so it's easier to keep track of and control and tax," said Eric Moutz, a Boulder attorney who specializes in advising clients who work with medical marijuana.

While some of the law's requirements are clear, many of the details still need to be worked out through a state rule-making process that could take most of the year.

"Everything is in a holding pattern until the rules get set," Moutz said. "And those could be crippling or they could be very reasonable."

Colorado Springs dispensaries are in the same boat. Some will sink, others will stay afloat, as they struggle with the dual threat of competition and regulation. The architects of H.B. 1284 said they were out to kill many of these businesses, and they'll undoubtedly succeed. A year from now, the landscape will look much different, whether or not a dispensary ban makes the ballot.

Storefronts now filled will be empty again; landlords will be without tenants; jobs will disappear; city tax revenues will fall. Instead of visible dispensaries, operating openly in designated areas, some providers may go underground. The action will move back into neighborhoods, back behind closed doors. With less competition, and fewer places to purchase their medicine, the costs and inconveniences for patients will soar.

All the dreams of MMJ prohibitionists will be realized, in short, without the need for a divisive ballot battle, or the legal battle that will follow. And all they have to do is be patient, trust in the free market and let business-killing regulations take their toll. Banning businesses outright isn't really necessary in the United States. We have plenty of other ways to drive them under -- to strangle opportunity and entrepreneurship and cripple our local and national economy -- without the need for such extreme measures. All we need to do is the usual and these businesses will also disappear.




s h

 

[altitudefarmer]

He would be a great President...

 

[kuz]

KUZ- under the new law, as a medication, the herb will have no at the counter sales tax as of August first. They're after your money, for sure, but that's why all the fees have sprouted up, and I'm not sure that the section that places control in local hands won't add more. I know Mendocino had imposed the Zip Strip program back in about '05 as a way to get $25 more out of each plant, and a sheriff would come out and tag your plants to keep your numbers straight. Don't tell The Man about that one.

Are you sure? There is something about a sales tax exemption based on severity of illness but I didnt think it will be automatic for everyone. Cities will also tack on whatever local sales tax they want to add.

 

[kuz]

He would be a great President...

At least governor.

 

[pikes peak 69]

There is State tax on all MMJ EXCEPT if you are an indigent patient. Qualification for that hasn't been written yet and is to be developed by CDPHE. Also Locals can tack on county and city/town taxes. Hope that locals also abide by indigent status for patients.

pp69

 

[sky high]

Those patients who have been here awhile will remember that this is the guy who had 140 plants cut down by the Sherriff a few Summers ago and who threatened to sue the county for the loss of meds.


City orders MediMar to ‘cease and desist’

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 5:25 pm | Updated: 5:35 pm, Tue Jun 29, 2010.

By PETER ROPER

City officials delivered a "cease and desist" order this afternoon to MediMar Ministries, the only medical marijuana center that has been openly operating in the city during the past few months, despite a city moratorium on licensing such businesses.

Tom Sexton, who transferred ownership of MediMar to his wife, Karen Garnant, said the business at 112 Colorado Ave. would appeal the city's order but was uncertain this afternoon whether that would be in court or through the city's zoning board of appeals.

"We've tried to operate a model (medical marijuana) business, working with the city along the way," Sexton said. "But if the city insists that this conversation has to take place in court, I guess that's where we'll have it."

Sexton said he transferred ownership to his wife after being convicted in district court earlier this summer of possessing marijuana. Pueblo County Sheriff deputies had raided his Beulah property and confiscated marijuana plants that Sexton used for MediMar.

Asked about Tuesday's cease-and-desist order, City Attorney Tom Florczak said that when MediMar was granted a sales tax license last year, city officials were not aware at the time that it was for a medical marijuana business. That quickly changed when Sexton and other medical marijuana providers challenged City Council's decision last autumn to impose a moratorium on licensing medical marijuana centers.

Sexton told council he would respect that moratorium, but that changed last spring when a Colorado district court ruled against the city of Centennial, which had tried to impose a ban on a marijuana center after previously granting it a license. When that decision was announced, attorneys for MediMar informed The Pueblo Chieftain the business would resume providing marijuana to patients that had designated it as a caregiver.

Pueblo police were aware that MediMar was back in operation earlier this year, but both city and county officials were waiting for the Legislature to determine how those businesses would or could be regulated. Lawmakers finished work in May, but said state licenses would not be available until July 2011.

Council is divided over whether to license and regulate marijuana centers, or ban them in the city. Council will consider an ordinance July 12 that would put that question to city voters.

Sexton said MediMar has collected and paid $20,000 in city sales tax this year.

"What really bothers me is that the city is determined to force us out of this building so that we have to meet our patients in cars and homes to give them their medication," he said.

 

[pikes peak 69]

Don't agree with much of what this guy does ( I know patients in Pueblo) but he is another FRont Line troop. He has the money and is willing to spend it on his cause, let him pay the Attorneys and get some of this BS brought to court, see what the judges say about them F%^KERS stepping on our rights.

JMO
pp69

Those patients who have been here awhile will remember that this is the guy who had 140 plants cut down by the Sherriff a few Summers ago and who threatened to sue the county for the loss of meds.


City orders MediMar to ‘cease and desist’

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 5:25 pm | Updated: 5:35 pm, Tue Jun 29, 2010.

By PETER ROPER

City officials delivered a "cease and desist" order this afternoon to MediMar Ministries, the only medical marijuana center that has been openly operating in the city during the past few months, despite a city moratorium on licensing such businesses.

Tom Sexton, who transferred ownership of MediMar to his wife, Karen Garnant, said the business at 112 Colorado Ave. would appeal the city's order but was uncertain this afternoon whether that would be in court or through the city's zoning board of appeals.

"We've tried to operate a model (medical marijuana) business, working with the city along the way," Sexton said. "But if the city insists that this conversation has to take place in court, I guess that's where we'll have it."

Sexton said he transferred ownership to his wife after being convicted in district court earlier this summer of possessing marijuana. Pueblo County Sheriff deputies had raided his Beulah property and confiscated marijuana plants that Sexton used for MediMar.

Asked about Tuesday's cease-and-desist order, City Attorney Tom Florczak said that when MediMar was granted a sales tax license last year, city officials were not aware at the time that it was for a medical marijuana business. That quickly changed when Sexton and other medical marijuana providers challenged City Council's decision last autumn to impose a moratorium on licensing medical marijuana centers.

Sexton told council he would respect that moratorium, but that changed last spring when a Colorado district court ruled against the city of Centennial, which had tried to impose a ban on a marijuana center after previously granting it a license. When that decision was announced, attorneys for MediMar informed The Pueblo Chieftain the business would resume providing marijuana to patients that had designated it as a caregiver.

Pueblo police were aware that MediMar was back in operation earlier this year, but both city and county officials were waiting for the Legislature to determine how those businesses would or could be regulated. Lawmakers finished work in May, but said state licenses would not be available until July 2011.

Council is divided over whether to license and regulate marijuana centers, or ban them in the city. Council will consider an ordinance July 12 that would put that question to city voters.

Sexton said MediMar has collected and paid $20,000 in city sales tax this year.

"What really bothers me is that the city is determined to force us out of this building so that we have to meet our patients in cars and homes to give them their medication," he said.

 

[sky high]

Somethin to think about if it pertains to you.... (?)

 

[altitudefarmer]

No kidding... That's just retarded all the way around. It's retarded to run a grow-op in your house with children present; they have big mouths. It's retarded to engage in anything that could be construed as DV with kids in the house (not to mention a semi-legal garden). And it's also retarded that cannabis is lumped right in there with a meth lab, when unlocked medicine cabinets everywhere are loaded with pharmaceuticals in the convenient privacy of the bathroom.

 

[RMCG]

No kidding... That's just retarded all the way around. It's retarded to run a grow-op in your house with children present; they have big mouths. It's retarded to engage in anything that could be construed as DV with kids in the house (not to mention a semi-legal garden). And it's also retarded that cannabis is lumped right in there with a meth lab, when unlocked medicine cabinets everywhere are loaded with pharmaceuticals in the convenient privacy of the bathroom.

" licensed marijuana growing operation "


Where is Romer and all other HB1284 backers?

If they have provisions in there to petition the fed to reschedule from I to II, then perhaps they should start right here in their own backyard...

While I agree the guy doesn't exactly look like a 'model citizen' or 'of good moral character' or whatever stupid verbiage they put in there, not to mention the DV stuff, should he now be subjected to recently 'outdated' state laws regarding crack houses and meth labs?

 

[altitudefarmer]

Yeah, I'm sure if he thought his pic would be all over the news he might have thrown on a suit-n-tie before he was arrested...lol. This is the crap that gives the whole movement a bad name, sadly. That couple should probably be prosecuted for breeding; it's abusive to bring a child into the world when you're that ignorant... (however, I'd still be a knucklehead if my children hadn't taught me so much along the way...LOL)

 

[another_sellout]

I think we should encourage localities to tax it, Kuz, everybody. Think about it. Beats having them post a moratorium, right? And what's wrong with paying taxes, anyway? I like keeping my wads of cash laundered right in to the system. Makes my house payment more convincing. And wouldn't it be nice to have the pigs shut their mouths around your fat taxes and leave you alone?

As for shitty parents, fuck 'em. I had shitty parents. Hope he gets his. Really. I have young twins, so I rent an entirely seperate property for my indoor. Just simple logic. Also lets me keep my arsenal around the house.

Bang! Bang!

 

[sky high]

City wants medical pot joints gone

By Tom Hacker
Loveland Reporter-Herald

Days may be numbered for Loveland’s 14 medical marijuana dispensaries, with a council consensus on Tuesday night to ban the sale and distribution of medical pot in the city as soon as possible.
The council, just prior to unanimous passage of a resolution extending the moratorium on new dispensaries through Dec. 31, instructed City Attorney John Duval to draft a choice of resolutions for the council to consider in late July, either of which would shut down the businesses.

Duval, in late July or early August, will present councilors with these choices:

• A resolution banning the sale and cultivation of medical marijuana until voters weigh in on a council-approved ballot measure in November on the question of keeping and regulating the dispensaries;

• A measure that would ban medical marijuana sales without putting the issue to voters.

The 2010 Colorado Legislature opened the door to local control of medical marijuana, with provisions for licensing and controlling the industry or to opt out of the business provisions of the constitutional amendment authorizing its use.

“I’m ready to quit acting like this legislation is something we need to honor and respect,” councilor Donna Rice said, opening a lively discussion that, after an hour, demonstrated a council consensus to close the shops. “We have the option to stop the sale and cultivation of marijuana cultivation in our city.”

Hugh McKean jumped aboard: “Donna, I’m with you,” he said. “Let’s opt out of this process now, and still get it on the ballot.”

Councilors spoke of the failed promise of regulating the medical marijuana industry, and its detrimental effects on the city. And, as the discussion wore on, the question of whether to leave the question to voters got close scrutiny.

Some councilors pressed for a November ballot question, saying it gave the city control over the cost and timing of a citywide election on the issue, one that could be called for by a citizen petition requiring as few as 3,500 signatures.

Councilors Larry Heckel and Kent Solt expressed the need to preserve the rights of medical marijuana patients to obtain it under provisions of a doctor’s prescription, something the new state law preserves.