BROOMFIELD COUNCIL TO HEAR MEDICAL POT OPTIONS

City Staff to Present a Range of Possibilities on Dispensaries

The City and County Attorney's Office is scheduled to present council
members with a list of policy proposals the City Council could enact
in the wake of new state laws that regulate the industry, City and
County Attorney Bill Tuthill said.

Banning dispensaries, setting up a local regulatory scheme or putting
an initiative on the ballot in November that would let residents
weigh in are among the options, Tuthill said.

In February, Broomfield enacted a six-month moratorium on granting
business licenses to medical marijuana dispensaries. The intent was
to give city leaders a chance to watch what other communities were
doing, see what kind of bills the Legislature would pass and to give
the city time to craft its own policy.

New state regulations were signed into law June 7, and Broomfield's
moratorium will expire Aug. 21.

To the city's knowledge, no dispensaries are running in Broomfield.

"We're not currently aware of anyone who's operating illegally," Tuthill said.

Staff will not give City Council worked out laws and policies during
the study session. The intent of the presentation is to give council
members options. If there is a consensus, staff will draft the
necessary regulations or ballot proposal, Tuthill said.

Council members are likely to see six possibilities.

The first is to do nothing and let the state regulations govern
dispensaries. Dispensaries would need to be licensed by the state,
comply with local zoning laws and could not be within 1,000 feet of a
school, child-care facility or alcohol or drug treatment facility.
Their hours would be from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The second option is banning dispensaries. Patients and primary
caregivers would be able to grow plants for up to five patients, but
they could not resell marijuana for a profit.

Option three is to put a question before Broomfield voters in
November asking if medical marijuana businesses should be banned. The
City Council would have to vote by the end of August to place the
issue on the ballot. The current moratorium would be extended until
after the election.

A fourth option would be to extend the moratorium until July 2011.
The law passed by the state requires cities and counties to have
policies in place by July 10, 2011. An extended moratorium would
allow Broomfield to "get a better handle on how the state is handling
this," Tuthill said. Although the Legislature passed a law, state
regulators still must sort out the details of implementing it. The
law also could face legal challenges.

"It also allows you another year for the litigation to shake out,"
Tuthill said.

The remaining two options would allow dispensaries.

One would establish a licensing authority, like the Local Licensing
Authority that regulates liquor stores, which would give Broomfield a

hands-on role in determining which dispensary owners get licenses.

The remaining option would not create a licensing authority, but the
city would retain the right to set laws on where dispensaries could
locate, their hours and whether to set a cap on the total number
operating in Broomfield.

While the policy-making process goes forward, the number of police
raids on marijuana growers has decreased, North Metro Task Force
Commander Jerry Peters said. Broomfield police and the task force
arrested six growers in five separate raids in February, March and April.

Broomfield has been relatively quite, but the task force continues to
raid growers in Adams County, Peters said.

Prosecutors are pursing felony charges against two of the men
arrested, but have yet to file charges against the others, 17th
Judicial District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Krista Flannigan said.