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An ordinance passed last month in Greenwood Village is poised to become a test case for how far cities can go to keep marijuana out of their communities after legalization.
In early January, the Greenwood Village City Council voted to ban use, possession and transportation of marijuana on city property. That is not so unusual, as numerous cities and counties have restricted marijuana after the passage of Amendment 64.
Here's the catch, though: The Greenwood Village ordinance defines city property to include all the public streets and sidewalks in the city. That makes it illegal even to drive through the city with an otherwise legal amount of marijuana in the car.
Because residents can't bring marijuana to their homes, the only way legally to possess marijuana in Greenwood Village is to grow it — and the City Council is expected to pass an ordinance soon that places strict controls on growing at home to address concerns about mold and fire hazards.
Greenwood Village City Attorney Tonya Haas Davidson said the ban is allowed under the marijuana-legalization law, which says "an entity who occupies, owns or controls property" can prohibit marijuana on that property.
"We own public property," she said. "So we just wrote the most restrictive ordinance we could."
But Brian Vicente, one of the authors of Amendment 64, said that interpretation will land Greenwood Village in court. He said streets and sidewalks aren't so much government property as public places where people should be able to exercise constitutional liberties.
"What they've done is invite inevitable, costly litigation," Vicente said. "This is a direct violation of the state constitution."
Amendment 64 legalizes use and possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for people 21 and older. It also allows for retail marijuana sales, although pot shops won't open for about another 11 months.
Cities can ban marijuana businesses. According to the Colorado Municipal League, at least 15 cities, including Greenwood Village, have passed ordinances either banning the businesses or placing a moratorium on them. Cities can also regulate marijuana through zoning restrictions.
But no city in Colorado has gone as far as the Greenwood Village ordinance in seeking to keep pot out.
City Council member Leslie Schluter, who sponsored the ordinance, said the city's residents did not support Amendment 64 and said their government should respect that.
"I think (marijuana) is a major threat to the welfare of especially our children," Schluter said during a hearing on the ordinance last month. "You can't do this without making it more acceptable to those who are under age."
Jerry Presley was one of two council members who voted against the ordinance, saying the city shouldn't override the will of the state's voters.
"Any common-sense reading of Amendment 64 would say that the people, when they voted for it, did not believe the transport of marijuana on city streets should be illegal," said Presley, who didn't support Amendment 64.
The ordinance makes it a municipal violation to possess marijuana on city streets, sidewalks, parks, trails and government buildings. Haas Davidson, the city attorney, said police will have a light hand in enforcing it.
"We're not going to stop people or do traffic checks." she said.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068, [email protected] or twitter.com/john_ingold
Read more: Greenwood Village ordinance to test pot legalization law - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22500645/greenwood-village-ordinance-test-pot-legalization-law#ixzz2Jqc42xDX
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