Medical-Marijuana Bill

LAWMAKERS CRAFTING MEDICAL-POT BILL STRUGGLE FOR MIDDLE GROUND

The state lawmakers drafting a major medical-marijuana regulation bill
plan to meet with representatives from the state attorney general's
office today to work on a compromise to include more law-and-order
language in the bill.

At the same time, medical-marijuana advocates are blasting the current
version of the bill, arguing it is already too restrictive. On
Thursday, attorney Rob Corry sent a letter to state Sen. Chris Romer,
the Denver Democrat who is crafting the legislation, saying the bill
"cannot be supported by any serious patient or caregiver in Colorado's
medical-marijuana community."

Earlier this week, Brian Vicente, executive director of Sensible
Colorado, said medical-marijuana advocates would work to put a ballot
issue before voters if the legislature passes a bill it feels clamps
down too hard on the booming medical-marijuana industry.

"We're somewhat concerned that this bill is going to be reflective of
the law-enforcement agenda as opposed to looking out for what's really
best for patients," Vicente said Thursday.

State Rep. Tom Massey -- a Republican from Poncha Springs who is
working with Romer on the bill -- said the pair continues to negotiate
with both sides of the medical-marijuana debate, but recognizes there
are "legitimate law-enforcement concerns" their current bill does not
address.

Those concerns include better defining the role of a medical-marijuana
caregiver and tightening the rules for doctors who recommend medical
marijuana.

"We're getting much closer" to a final draft of the bill, Massey said.
"It's all about trying to find somewhat of a middle ground."

The foreseeable clash over the bill between law enforcement -- which
favors strong regulations that would effectively eliminate retail
marijuana dispensaries -- and cannabis advocates -- who favor
regulations that professionalize the industry, but otherwise leave
dispensaries free to flourish -- will almost certainly make that
middle ground elusive for the bill's sponsors.

"This is not going to be an easy negotiation process," Romer
said.

Romer said he is committed to giving medical-marijuana patients a path
to safely obtain their medicine, and he said he hopes law enforcement
will agree to abandon a provision in its proposal that would limit to
five the number of patients any one caregiver could provide the drug
to. Having such a limit, he said, could force gravely ill people "to
buy medical marijuana in back alleys or parks or parking lots."

But, he said, medical-marijuana advocates must agree to regulations
that rein in Colorado's booming dispensary scene. Romer's draft bill
would require dispensary owners and growers to pass background checks
and be of "good moral character" and would limit how many times
patients could change their caregiver in a year, thus ending store-to-
store shopping.

The rising economic sector "has got to realize that this
retail-stimulating-demand model is not acceptable," Romer said. "We're
interested in serving demand, not stimulating demand."