CITY COULD USE EXTENSION OF POT MORATORIUM

Yes, Longmont needs to pause and take a deep breath -- for about six
months -- before again considering the approval of more medical
marijuana dispensaries. The businesses are proliferating, cities
around the state are faced with decisions about how to regulate them
(or not), a Colorado Court of Appeals ruling brings into question
what a "primary caregiver" is, and the Colorado Legislature might
take up the specifics of dispensaries in the 2010 session.

All recommend an extension of Longmont's current 90-day moratorium on
the approval of licenses, but the key reason is to await legislative
direction.

Staff rightly noted that "it would be beneficial for city staff to
have an opportunity to review any proposed legislation ... (allowing)
the city to develop options that are in line with whatever policy
direction the state Legislature defines."

Further, this extension will allow the city to gather more public
input on the topic.

The council seems to have accepted the logic of the staff's
assertion, agreeing unanimously to the six-month freeze in an initial
vote on Tuesday.

Already, Longmont has approved seven marijuana dispensaries, four
fewer than the number of pharmacies in town. An eighth operator hopes
his application beat the cutoff date for the existing 90-day freeze.
So residents who carry medical marijuana cards are not without
sources of the drug.

With too many questions unanswered, and too great an opportunity for
abuse (the typical marijuana card-holder is a man 40 or younger), the
state's medical marijuana system desperately requires the careful
consideration of lawmakers.

The city of Longmont knows that. Six months is not too long to think
about this.