THE UNWELCOME BACKLASH: THE REACTIONARY STANCE AGAINST MARIJUANA

Some critics of Colorado's medical marijuana industry say that the
current state illustrates the law of unintended consequences.

Upon reflection, however, the current state of the industry was
inevitable, and directly related to lawmakers lack of initiative for
a decade, and their reactionary stance today.

Today: Where large, unregulated grow houses have been found in
residential areas near schools; where pot shops bloomed like
dandelions in a few areas, particularly concentrated in downtown
Boulder and the Boulder's University Hill area; and various crimes
have been associated with the businesses.

Colorado voters decided a decade ago that people with medical
conditions should be allowed to legally use marijuana to ease all
kinds of conditions, including pain and nausea. The law is
compassionate, and we support it.

But now there are dozens of legitimate complaints from police
officials and community members who say the law is flawed. Like the
sheriff in nearby Larimer County, following the arrest of three young
men in a smoke-filled car headed north. They had a novel little
business going. They purchased large jars of marijuana from legal
medical dispensaries in Denver, and transported it to Wyoming, where
they sold it (illegally) for a profit. (Note to future business
leaders of America: Don't smoke your product before you deliver the goods.)

Law of unintended consequences of a voter-supported amendment? Or
inevitable consequence of 10 years of inaction by state and local
lawmakers to regulate a huge shift in the law?

November 2000 to 2009 was, legislatively speaking, practically a dead
zone when it comes to medical marijuana. Some communities banned
dispensaries, or put them on hold. Others either attempted to make,
or did make, marijuana legal for everyone -- which, if regulated,
might make the most sense.

But what the state needed was a comprehensive approach, with common
sense local controls. And the compassionate-care law that voters
approved is now in the crosshairs of a backlash against it: Because
who needs hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of pot in the
suburban house next door, or cuckoo kids smoking dope on their way up
to fun and profit in Wyoming?

Gov. Bill Ritter has said he'll sign the new regulations passed by
the statehouse this session. The bill is overly punitive to the
industry -- for instance only allowing five patients per caregiver
and allowing communities to ban them outright. It faces a flurry of lawsuits.

Here in Boulder, we upped the silly ante, with our City Council
approving a law that will force growing operations to offset 100
percent of their electricity use with wind or solar power.

To target an industry just because you can -- just because it's
facing a backlash now -- strikes us as absurd. What about the other
medical and bioscience companies in the city? Or locavores growing
their own seedlings and microgreens? Or commercial gardens and
florists? Or, just to be random, restaurants?