MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEBATE TAKES SHAPE FOR COLORADO LEGISLATORS

One Proposed Bill Would Crack Down On Dispensaries, While Another
Creates Licenses And Oversight

The debate facing Colorado legislators on medical marijuana
regulation is taking shape with the release of two draft bills, one
from state Sen. Chris Romer, a Denver Democrat who has taken a lead
role on the issue, and the other, much tougher bill from the County
Sheriffs of Colorado.

Romer's legislation would create a medical marijuana licensing board,
similar to the state liquor board, to issue licenses to "medical
marijuana clinics" (not dispensaries) and commercial growers who
supply medical marijuana patients. Each license would be the subject
of a public hearing, and licensees would have to pass background
checks and show they and their business partners are "of good moral character."

The bill also allows local communities to regulate the number of
dispensaries within their borders and charge higher sales taxes on
medical marijuana than on general retail.

Clinics would have to file patient care plans with the state to
demonstrate they do more for patients than just sell them pot.

The law enforcement bill, in contrast, makes no provision for
retail-style dispensaries, even those with patient care plans. It
would limit caregivers to no more than five patients.

It was the decision by the state Board of Health last summer to lift
the limit on the number of patients any one caregiver could have that
allowed the proliferation of dispensaries in the latter half of 2009.
And it was that proliferation, in turn, that led to the calls for
increased regulation, not least from Boulder County District Attorney
Stan Garnett, who said the law had too many gray areas and needed
clarification.

For example, dispensary owners derive their right to operate from
their status as "caregivers," an odd term for someone who runs a
retail establishment, while growers who supply medical marijuana
businesses exist in a legal limbo.

Garnett said a lot of people have asked his opinion, probably because
he's been speaking publicly for months about Read the full text of
the County Sheriffs of Colorado draft legislation on medical
marijuana regulation. medical marijuana, both about the benefits to
law enforcement of focusing on more serious crime and the need for
more regulation, and he plans to get involved in the legislative debate.

He's meeting this week with Romer, representatives of the county
sheriffs' association and Gov. Bill Ritter before formally announcing
his support for one of the bills. But based on the draft language, he
said he's much more likely to support the Romer bill.

"The problem I have with the law enforcement bill is that it tries to
turn back the clock," he said.

The law enforcement bill also would require that caregivers do more
than just provide marijuana and would bar caregivers from employing
people to help them grow or distribute marijuana.

Dispensary owners and medical marijuana advocates said they have
concerns about both bills, though they strongly support some elements
in the Romer bill, like the creation of a license for growers.

Larry Hill -- a Longmont dispensary owner and president of the
American Medical Marijuana Standards Association, a Colorado trade
association of dispensary owners and patient advocates -- said his
colleagues just want equal treatment.

They're willing to accept the same sorts of regulations that govern
other businesses, he said, but they don't think their industry should
be singled out for special treatment as more dangerous or detrimental
to the community.

"Everybody who has something to say about this is trying to put in
back in the black market," he said, referring to regulations that
would make it difficult for existing dispensaries to stay in business.

Romer's bill puts a lot of new requirements on dispensaries. In
addition to filing patient care plans, dispensaries would have to
keep publicly available records that details how much marijuana
they're selling to how many patients, and they would have to report
patients who buy more than two ounces a week.

What's needed, Hill said, is clarity about the legality of
dispensaries and growing operations, not onerous requirements.

"Nobody knows what guidelines they're supposed to follow," he said.

Both bills would require that doctors who recommend marijuana have
seen the patient before the recommendation and provide follow-up
care. They also would allow the Department of Public Health and
Environment to conduct reviews of doctors who write a
disproportionate number of recommendations.

Statewide, just five doctors have written almost half of all
recommendations, according to the state health department, which
requested legislation to more closely regulate the doctor-patient relationship.

Just because a doctor writes a disproportionate number of
recommendations doesn't mean the recommendations aren't appropriate, Hill said.

"So many doctors in Colorado are afraid to sign one of these
recommendations because of the repercussions," he said.

[SIDEBAR] Read the full text of state Sen. Chris Romer's draft
legislation on medical marijuana regulation.
http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site21/2010/0102/20100102_063753_Draft%20Romer%20legislation.pdf