GLENWOOD IMPOSES MEDICAL POT DISPENSARY MORATORIUM

4-3 Vote Prohibits Any New Shops From Opening In City After June
17

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado -- Roaring Fork School Board member Myles
Rovig attended Thursday's Glenwood Springs City Council meeting in
support of the newly adopted medical marijuana dispensary moratorium.
However, he felt that council should go even further in regulating
the industry.

"I am here to support your moratorium on medical marijuana stores in
town, but I'm only here to support that if you take it a step further
for the complete banishment of those stores," Rovig pleaded with
council.

Council passed the moratorium ordinance in another 4-3 vote on second
reading on Thursday. It will prohibit any new dispensaries from
opening up shop in Glenwood after June 17. Council pulled the item
from the consent agenda for further discussion after Rovig's comments.

Rovig told council that the situation regarding medical marijuana in
Glenwood has gotten completely out of control and that the city needs
to have the product regulated to the point where the real medical
community is in control of distribution. Rovig then told council
that the RFSD has seen an increase in expulsions directly related to
the use or distribution of marijuana by students.

"We've had 20 expulsions this year," Rovig said. "You think the kids
haven't figured it out? That they can get it, they can use it, and
they can take it wherever they want because nobody seems to care. I
think that is a problem that we need to deal with."

Rovig noted that the 20 expulsions were districtwide and were not
limited to Glenwood Springs. But Councilor Leo McKinney took
exception to Rovig's comments.

"I completely disagree with most of what you said," McKinney said. "I
think there is a lot of rhetoric out there that has been around for
one hundred years, a lot of propaganda, and most of it's proving not
to be true."

McKinney said that he understood Rovig's concerns for the need of
regulations, however he said, that those regulations need to be reasonable.

"I'm not opposed to decent, reasonable regulations, but I refuse to
do so on the basis of fear," McKinney said.

Both House Bill 1284 and Senate Bill 109, which are awaiting Gov.
Bill Ritter's signature, will put in place some preliminary
guidelines. The new state bills will require dispensary owners to be
registered and licensed with the state and local governments, and
will also require owners to pass a criminal background check.
Restrictions on dispensaries being within 1,000 feet of public or
private schools are also included.

However, Rovig's concerns don't come without merit.

Glenwood Springs Police Chief Terry Wilson confirmed a "substantial
increase" in medical marijuana related instances this year at
Glenwood Springs High School.

"We've had a number of arrests at, or in and around, the school this
year," Wilson said. "It's become very routine."

Wilson said that the increase in number of incidents this year was
"ridiculous", and that enacting a moratorium is a good start in
regulating the industry in town.

"I was in support of [a moratorium] six months ago," Wilson said. "I
think it definitely has some benefits because we have a chance to
review the legislation the state has passed and try to figure out
what we as a community want to do with meeting state
requirements."

According to RFSD Superintendent Judy Haptonstall, the district has
had at least 20 related instances of possession, use or distribution
of marijuana, however she said that she couldn't confirm if the cases
were specifically related to medical marijuana or not.

"We've had at least 20 instances," she said. "But if those all
involved medical marijuana or not, I really could not say."

Haptonstall said that the sudden increase could be attributed to
legalization of marijuana for medical purposes and the mixed messages
kids are getting about it.

"I think it seems like kids have seen marijuana as an OK thing to
do," she said.

The increase in marijuana related issues are a concern for her as a
school administrator. The school district recently revised its
policies to include the restriction of medical marijuana on school
grounds.

The moratorium The Glenwood Springs moratorium is in response to the
highly controversial state legislation, HB 1284 and Senate Bill 109,
that will impose statewide regulations on licensing and operating of
dispensaries. The bill will also enact a one-year statewide
moratorium on dispensaries from opening starting July 1. However,
Gov. Bill Ritter has not signed the bill into law as of Friday.

Colorado voters adopted Amendment 20 to the state's constitution in
2000, creating an exception from state criminal laws pertaining to
the possession and use of marijuana for medical purposes. The
industry has grown in numbers of locations that rivals Starbucks
coffee shops across the state, spurring concern among citizens for
communities to regulate the industry.

In the past 12 months, Glenwood has seen eight dispensaries open in
town. City Council argued that the moratorium gives the city time to
further determine what, if any, further regulations should be
imposed, and that the need for the moratorium is necessary for the
"preservation of the public safety, health and welfare," according to
the draft ordinance.

The draft ordinance states that the unregulated industry "presents
serious health and safety concerns to the citizens of Glenwood
Springs," and that dispensaries present the possibility of increased
criminal activity with large amounts of cash and marijuana inside the
businesses.

However, Wilson said that police have not yet seen an increase in
criminal activity with the dispensaries in town.

"I cannot think of one instance that we have had of a situation of
that nature, so far," Wilson said.

According to the city's zoning laws, dispensaries that don't grow
their own product, fall into two categories of retail businesses,
which are permitted in a wide variety of areas of town. However, in
certain circumstances, if the dispensary does grow its own product,
the cultivation of medical marijuana and related activities likely
constitute agricultural or horticultural uses that may be restricted
in the same areas.

The city currently has no land use or business regulation
specifically addressing the establishment, location and operation of
dispensaries in town.

Glenwood currently does not require licensing or permits, nor does it
require dispensaries to keep records regarding the number of patients
served. The city also hasn't implemented limitation on quantities or
on-site consumption. Those are several of the specifics that Council
may struggle with over the next six months.

The moratorium will continue until Dec. 17. But that won't really
matter if Gov. Ritter signs HB 1284 into law, because the statewide
moratorium will be in place until July 1, 2011.

Regardless, no dispensary will be allowed to open or operate in
Glenwood except those that have been issued a sales tax license, and
are in compliance with city requirements before June 17. The
moratorium also requires current dispensaries to comply with all
zoning requirements for the property.

Wilson said that he has spoken to two people in the past few weeks
who were interested in opening dispensaries in town.

"Now they are hot to get in," Wilson said.

He said that there is a good chance that Glenwood will have two
additional dispensaries open in town before the moratorium is
implemented on June 17, bringing the city's total to 10.