MEDICAL-POT BILL FRIENDLY TO INDUSTRY OK'D BY PANEL

Medical-marijuana advocates scored another win Monday at the state
Capitol when a legislative panel approved a bill creating new
dispensary regulations after making several industry-friendly changes.

A divided House Judiciary Committee removed a provision that would
have allowed local governments to ban dispensaries in their
communities. The committee also voted to allow consumption of
marijuana-infused products at dispensaries, lower the amount of
marijuana a dispensary would have to grow itself, eliminate a cap on
the number of patients a dispensary could serve and loosen the rules
for past criminal violations that could automatically disqualify
someone from owning a dispensary.

House Bill 1284 would require dispensaries to be licensed with the
state, grow 70 percent of the marijuana they sell and be subject to
strict operational regulations. The committee passed the bill on a
7-4 party-line vote with Democrats in favor, though some votes on
amendments were closer.

"This provides tremendous opportunities for this business and this
form of medication to be used in a highly regulated environment,"
said Rep. Claire Levy, a Boulder Democrat who chairs the committee.

Brian Vicente, the executive director of the medical-marijuana
patient-advocacy group Sensible Colorado, called the revised bill a
"significant improvement."

"This bill is becoming closer to what patients need in this state," he said.

But not everyone is pleased.

Mark Radtke, the legislative and policy advocate for the Colorado
Municipal League, said the organization would fight to restore the
ability of local governments to ban dispensaries. Rep. Steve King, a
Grand Junction Republican who sits on the committee, said the bill
distorts the intent of Amendment 20, the state constitutional
provision that legalizes medical marijuana.

"Amendment 20 in my mind was a compromise to help people in pain,"
King said. "Amendment 20 was not intended to have a pot shop on every corner."

Even one of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs,
said he disagreed with the removal of local dispensary bans.

"They should be able to say, 'We don't want this in our community,' "
Massey said.

Monday's changes to the bill were the latest in a string of victories
at the Capitol for medical-marijuana advocates. Those successes for
dispensaries -- which have spent thousands of dollars on an intensive
lobbying campaign -- are even more dramatic compared with the outlook
at the start of the session, when lawmakers were expected to consider
a bill banning dispensaries.

"We all have realized that, from a practical standpoint, there are
100,000 (medical-marijuana) cards out there, and you can't deal with
that in basements and small growing operations," Massey said.

Still, Sensible Colorado's Vicente said he is not yet embracing the
bill because he wants to see the final version. The bill must pass at
least seven more votes before being sent to the governor's desk.