AURORA COULD FEEL EFFECTS OF CENTENNIAL MARIJUANA LAWSUIT

AURORA - A lawsuit filed last week against the city of Centennial for
shutting down a medical marijuana dispensary there could have lasting
effects on cities like Aurora that have barred dispensaries, the
lawyer representing the Centennial marijuana patients said this week.

The suit, filed last week in Arapahoe County District Court, argues
that Centennial erred when the city forced a medical marijuana
dispensary, Cannamart, to close its doors in October.

There is a stark difference between the Centennial case and Aurora's
handling of dispensaries. Centennial allowed a dispensary to open and
even collected sales tax from the dispensary before ordering it
closed. In Aurora, officials have simply denied business licenses
for all dispensaries and last month city council passed a moratorium
on any future dispensary applications.

Robert Hoban, who is representing Cannamart and some of the patients
who bought marijuana there in the Centennial suit, said while the two
cities differ in the way they have dealt with medicinal marijuana,
the suit could impact Aurora.

Both sides of the medical marijuana debate have said in recent months
that the issue will likely be worked out in the courts and
legislatures in the coming months and years.

State Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, said this week he planned to
introduce legislation next year to regulate marijuana dispensaries,
according to various media reports.

Hoban said he expects legislation to address some aspects of the
issue, but when it comes to what cities can do in terms of zoning
regulations they place on dispensaries, the Centennial lawsuit could
provide important direction for cities.

"I'm not so sure that piece of legislation is going to address the
specific issue and that is the land use or the zoning portion of it,"
he said. "I think ultimately the land use or the regulation side of
this is going to have to be addressed city by city or through the
outcome of this particular lawsuit."

Aurora City Attorney Charlie Richardson is out of town this week and
a lawyer at his office declined to comment on the issue. But, in
recent months, city officials have said they plan to monitor medical
marijuana court cases and legislation closely, looking for some
direction on the issue.

Aurora, like a handful of Colorado municipalities including Greenwood
Village, Greeley and Broomfield, has refused to license dispensaries
because medical marijuana is still illegal under federal law - even
though it has been legal under state law since voters approved
Amendment 20 in 2000.

City officials have said any licensed business in the city must be
lawful. Because the sale and possession of marijuana is illegal under
federal law, city officials say the dispensaries aren't legal and
they will continue to bar them from Aurora.

Amendment 20 doesn't address the sale of marijuana and is silent on
the topic of dispensaries. The measure only addresses patients and
their "caregivers." Under Amendment 20, a patient can pick somebody
to be their caregiver. The state's dispensaries generally operate as
the caregivers for their customers, which allows them to possess and
provide the drug to people with a medical marijuana card.

According to the Colorado Municipal League, cities and towns around
the state have approved business licenses for more than 50
dispensaries, though it isn't clear from CML's research how many of
those businesses are operating. CML's research did not include
Denver, which some people estimate has dozens of dispensaries.

Aurora received its first application for a dispensary in September
2008 from a business called Mile High Compassionate Network. About
six weeks later, the city denied the application. Later, the city
denied another application from a company called Colorado Cannabis
Services and later denied a third application from another business.

According to the CML study, the vast majority of municipalities in
the state with dispensaries are collecting sales tax revenue from
them.

Hoban said that he has no problem with cities regulating
dispensaries, but he doesn't believe it's constitutional for them to
ban them outright.

"The bottom line is, cities can regulate it. There is no question
that cities can regulate location, they can regulate hours of
operation - anything that is reasonable within their boundaries. But
what cities cant do is ban the type of biz entirely," he said.

He said he hopes the Centennial lawsuit will prompt cities to
regulate the businesses, rather than barring them.

"This will have lasting effects," he said. "Hopefully, it prompts
cities to be proactive and impose these regulations themselves."