MARIJUANA ORDINANCES PASSED ON FIRST READING

Council Requests Citizen Input Following Spirited Debate

The Lamar City Council passed three ordinances on first reading
regarding medical marijuana at their meeting on March 22. The
ordinances are all designed to regulate the use of medical marijuana
within the city limits, with the first amending the sales tax
ordinance to clarify that the sale of medical marijuana is taxable and
not exempt as a prescription drug.

The second affects the zoning ordinance and defines medical marijuana
dispensaries, prohibits the cultivation and growth of marijuana as a
home occupation and that dispensaries may not be operated as a primary
land use or as an incidental activity to another lawful land use.

The third ordinance extends a temporary moratorium on the submission,
acceptance, processing and approval of any application for a permit or
license for a business that sells medical marijuana until the city's
regulatory authority over such businesses can investigate and the City
Council considers regulations on the businesses.

If the moratorium is going to be extended, Council needs to get
proactive and make a decision about the businesses, council member
Beverly Haggard said.

One of the considerations in passing the first moratorium was that
council was waiting for guidance from the Colorado Legislature, she
said.

That guidance hasn't come so the city needs to move on the issue,
whether it is allowing the businesses and taxing them, or banning them
entirely.

Approving the three items doesn't mean that council is going to accept
all of them at their next meeting, as the items contradict each other,
Deputy City Administrator Bill Pfeilsticker said.

Approving the items gives the council time to consider which
ordinance, if any, to approve, he said.

Recent events have put the need to make a decision to the forefront,
council members said.

The recent arrests of Andrew Deason and Tammy Deason for growing 36
marijuana plants made making a decision about regulating medical
marijuana more pressing.

Andrew Deason appeared before council to request clarification on some
of the ordinances, but Lamar Police Chief Brian Phillips suggested
that council not discuss the matter with Deason.

Deason is currently involved in an active criminal investigation and
anything he said during the council meeting could be used against him
in court, Phillips said.Council member P.J. Wilson suggested that the
city council talk to members of the Prowers County Commission so that
a uniform policy could be developed.

"So when we go forward, we're going forward as a team," he
said.

It is essential for citizens of Lamar to come forward and let the
council know how they feel about the issue, members said.

Without that input, the council is making a decision on behalf of the
city without knowing how the citizens feel.

Phillips said that no matter what decision council makes, his duties
would not be affected.

The ordinances keep people from opening stores, but do not prohibit
patients from growing their own marijuana, he said.

The Colorado Constitution states that patients can have up to six
plants, three flowering and three in planters, he said.

One part of his job is making sure Constitutional rights are
protected, he said.

In other business, council approved two appointments to the Lamar
Building Finance Committee. Ron Stock and Craig Brooks were approved
as committee members.

Council also passed an ordinance approving a loan from the Colorado
Water Resources and Power Authority to finance improvements to the
wastewater system.