ERIE COULD EXPAND POT BAN

ERIE -- The town of Erie's moratorium on medical marijuana businesses
could be extended until the Colorado State Legislature rules on the issue.

Erie Board of Trustees members expressed frustration Tuesday with
their inability to act on dispensaries until the state outlines its
regulations and designates what authority individual municipalities
will have over dispensaries and growing operations within their borders.

"Another six-month moratorium is probably all we can claim without
setting up our own rules," town administrator Mike Acimovic said
Tuesday. Erie is midway through its initial six-month moratorium.
"We're hoping the Legislature does something to give the town
guidance in this area."

Because there isn't an exact timeline for the Legislature to dictate
on the issue, municipalities like Erie are forced to weigh their
limited options in the interim.

Trustee Paul Ogg questioned the town's ability to formalize the process.

"Is there a way the town of Erie can declare that medical marijuana
can only be dispensed from a licensed pharmacist?" Ogg asked. "Is
there some law that we have that relies on some external standard?
That's what I would like to see explored."

Pharmacists are regulated by the state; the town doesn't have the
power to regulate them. Erie's legal adviser said the real question
is what's going to come out of the Legislature, because Erie is a
statutory town and will essentially be "a creature of that state legislation."

The possibility of taxing medical marijuana, zoning dispensary
locations and restricting patient and dispensary numbers are issues
that surfaced Tuesday and may be revisited by the board.

"I want to be aggressive about this, but I want to be aggressive
after the state weighs in," Mayor Andrew Moore said. "It could be
next week that they give us clarification, or it could be months from now."

A special Consortium of Cities meeting March 2 will bring together
municipalities to discuss options.

Erie trustees will revisit the issue Feb. 23.