DENVER CITY COUNCIL GIVES INITIAL OK TO RULES ON MEDICAL-POT DISPENSARIES

New regulations for medical-marijuana dispensaries got an initial
go-ahead by the full Denver City Council on Monday, putting the city
one step closer to adopting thorough oversight for what one council
member calls Denver's fastest-growing industry.

The proposed regulations require dispensaries to apply for special
licenses with the city and limit how close new dispensaries can open
to schools, child-care facilities or existing dispensaries, among
other rules. The regulations still need final approval by the council
at a meeting Monday that also will include a public hearing on the
rules.

"Tonight we have an opportunity to seize the moment and move forward
with what I really believe is a moderate regulatory scheme for what is
still the fastest-growing industry in Denver," Councilman Charlie
Brown, who is pushing the regulations, told fellow council members.

Denver officials have now received applications for sales-tax licenses
from 390 dispensaries.

The regulations would require new dispensaries to open at least 1,000
feet from schools, child-care centers or other dispensaries. In
addition to the spacing restrictions, the regulations would prohibit
on-site use or consumption of cannabis at dispensaries and limits
hours of operation to between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. They also would bar
people convicted of a felony within the past five years from opening a
dispensary.

The council unanimously approved the regulations, after changing the
cutoff date for exempting existing dispensaries from the spacing
requirements to Dec. 15.

Brown said he intended the change to bring peace among council members
who wanted the date to be Dec. 1 and those who wanted it to be Jan.
1.

Council member Michael Hancock said he had favored Dec. 1, saying many
dispensaries raced to open before the end of the year to avoid
complying with the spacing restrictions.

But council member Doug Linkhart said backdating the cutoff would
force some existing businesses to close their doors and look for new
locations.

Approximately 110 of the 129 dispensaries that obtained sales-tax
licenses after Dec. 15 could be affected by the spacing regulations,
according to the city's latest figures.

The City Council also considered an amendment that would have limited
how many marijuana plants could be grown on site at dispensaries but
narrowly rejected the change. The bill currently says on-site growing
operations must conform to the location's zoning.

Denver's regulations come as cities across the state continue to sort
through how to handle medical-marijuana dispensaries in their
communities.

Also Monday night, Greenwood Village's City Council was scheduled to
look at implementing a moratorium on dispensaries, and Castle Rock's
Town Council plans to consider a similar moratorium at its meeting
tonight.