LOVELAND VOTERS WILL HAVE VOICE IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA
OPERATIONS

LOVELAND - With the midnight oil burning at Loveland City Hall this
week, members of the City Council struggled with an issue that
stymied state leaders for months during the 2010 Legislative session.

After two hours of discussion and debate Tuesday, the Council agreed
to extend a municipal moratorium on new medical marijuana
dispensaries and place the issue on a the November ballot for a
community vote.

Following an overview of House Bill 1284 presented by City Attorney
John Duvall and testimony from medical marijuana advocates and
Loveland Police Chief Luke Hecker, the City Council agreed to a
six-month extension of the moratorium.

Councilor Hugh McKean also proposed the idea of asking Loveland
residents to vote on whether they want to prohibit medical marijuana
dispensaries. Loveland currently has 19 dispensaries, city leaders
said.

"I keep hearing from my constituents that they want to see this end
in Loveland," McKean said. "They are asking me to draw the line and
get marijuana out of the community."

Similar discussions and debate have cropped up in cities and towns
across the state following the passage of Amendment 20, Colorado's
voter-approved measure that created a medical marijuana system, a
subsequent proliferation of dispensaries and the recent passage of
House Bill 1284 that requires dispensaries to be licensed at the
state and local levels.

The new state bill also spells out several provisions that medical
marijuana dispensary owners must meet to obtain a state license,
including that dispensaries may not be within 1,000 feet of
elementary, middle, junior high or high schools and owners must pass
criminal background checks.

Such regulations have been embraced by some medical marijuana
advocates while others are threatening lawsuits even before Gov. Bill
Ritter has signed the bill into law.

For Ivan Warehime, an authorized representative of Loveland's
Medicalm Ltd., such regulations are good news at this stage in the
game, he said.

"We welcome regulation and oversight," Warehime said after addressing
the City Council on Tuesday. "We want to be legal and we want to be
legitimate businesses in the community."