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Medical-marijuana dispensaries in Denver would be barred from opening within 1,000 feet of one another and from locating within 1,000 feet of schools under proposed regulations forwarded Wednesday to the City Council.
Existing dispensaries and those that obtain sales-tax licenses from the city on or before Jan. 1 would not be subject to the new rules as tentatively approved by council members during a safety-committee meeting.
Council members Doug Linkhart and Chris Nevitt pushed for fewer regulations on the dispensaries. They said the industry was creating jobs, boosting sales-tax revenue and fulfilling a crucial need for ill patients.
Others, such as council members Charlie Brown, Paul Lopez, Jeanne Faatz, Carol Boigon, Rick Garcia and Judy Montero, said tighter guidelines were needed to keep the dispensaries from running amok.
Brown, who has worked on the regulations for the past three months, said he felt the work had been like "watching a pie move through a python."
In addition to limiting proximity of dispensaries to one another and to schools, the regulatory framework proposed by Brown and approved by the council's safety committee would:
• Limit dispensaries from opening within 1,000 feet of child-care centers.
• Bar felons or those who have completed any portion of a felony sentence within the past five years from operating a dispensary.
• Bar onsite consumption of medical marijuana at dispensaries.
The proposed regulations now go to the full council for initial consideration Jan. 4 and a public hearing and final vote on Jan. 11.
Voters in 2000 approved a constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana. The issue has gained steam this year as local and state officials grapple with rapid growth in the number of dispensaries and registered users.
State health officials estimate that they will receive 23,000 applications for medical-marijuana cards this year, up from 4,720 in 2008.
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_14014305#ixzz0ZyjOVaQS
Existing dispensaries and those that obtain sales-tax licenses from the city on or before Jan. 1 would not be subject to the new rules as tentatively approved by council members during a safety-committee meeting.
Council members Doug Linkhart and Chris Nevitt pushed for fewer regulations on the dispensaries. They said the industry was creating jobs, boosting sales-tax revenue and fulfilling a crucial need for ill patients.
Others, such as council members Charlie Brown, Paul Lopez, Jeanne Faatz, Carol Boigon, Rick Garcia and Judy Montero, said tighter guidelines were needed to keep the dispensaries from running amok.
Brown, who has worked on the regulations for the past three months, said he felt the work had been like "watching a pie move through a python."
In addition to limiting proximity of dispensaries to one another and to schools, the regulatory framework proposed by Brown and approved by the council's safety committee would:
• Limit dispensaries from opening within 1,000 feet of child-care centers.
• Bar felons or those who have completed any portion of a felony sentence within the past five years from operating a dispensary.
• Bar onsite consumption of medical marijuana at dispensaries.
The proposed regulations now go to the full council for initial consideration Jan. 4 and a public hearing and final vote on Jan. 11.
Voters in 2000 approved a constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana. The issue has gained steam this year as local and state officials grapple with rapid growth in the number of dispensaries and registered users.
State health officials estimate that they will receive 23,000 applications for medical-marijuana cards this year, up from 4,720 in 2008.
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_14014305#ixzz0ZyjOVaQS
