BASALT COUNCIL GUARDS AGAINST REEFER MADNESS

BASALT -- The Basalt Town Council took emergency action Tuesday
night to guard the town against receiving a flood of applications
for medical marijuana dispensaries.

The council approved a 90-day moratorium on new pot dispensaries to
buy time for its planning staff to work on regulations governing
such facilities. A dispensary was already approved for the WIN
Health Institute, an alternative health care cooperative on Valley
Road. That dispensary was expected to open this week and will not be
affected by the council's action.

The council also approved first readings of two ordinances which
dictate where dispensaries can open and rules of operation. Planning
director Susan Philp said the ordinances were crafted quickly, so
she requested the moratorium to provide time for additional research
and possible refinements. The ordinances will be finalized in a
second reading at a later date.

One major component of the rules are that the pot dispensaries must
be located at or near medical facilities.

Councilman Chris Seldin stressed that the council was not endorsing
medical marijuana dispensaries or addressing the use of pot by
voting on the proposed ordinances. "We are not entering into the
debate about the legality of marijuana or its use whatsoever," he said.

As an attorney who is sworn to uphold the law, Seldin abstained from
voting on the moratorium and the ordinances. The moratorium and
draft ordinances were approved 5-0 by the council, with Councilwoman
Amy Capron absent.