MEDICAL MARIJUANA CROPS UP AGAIN ON EVANS CITY COUNCIL AGENDA

EVANS -- Medical marijuana has become a hot topic on the Evans City
Council agenda once again.

The council plans to pass an emergency ordinance extending the
moratorium approved Jan. 19 that prohibits the creation of medical
marijuana dispensaries in the city. The current moratorium, also
passed using an emergency ordinance, expires July 19.

At the council's June 1 work session, the unofficial consensus was
that the moratorium should be extended another six months.

The decision will come at Tuesday's city council meeting.

The medical marijuana issue remains on the front burner as other
Colorado municipalities have recently enacted or extended medical
marijuana dispensary moratoriums.

Gov. Bill Ritter signed two bills on June 7 that were passed by
state lawmakers this session. The bills were designed to rein in the
growing number of marijuana dispensaries and growers.

Evans Mayor Lyle Achziger said Saturday in a telephone interview
that the city began leaning toward the moratorium extension because
initial discussions were held before Ritter approved the bills.
Achziger said the council continues on that path so it can find out
what the bills' terms are and allow challenges to the bill to be sorted out.

Achziger also said he didn't expect a lot of public feedback on the
issue because the council hadn't received much in January.

One of the bills Ritter signed last week requires that only doctors
in good standing be able to recommend medical marijuana. The other
sets up a uniform set of rules for marijuana dispensaries and
growers statewide.

Both laws take effect immediately.

Cities and counties are able ban dispensaries within their borders.
In places where they're allowed, owners will have to undergo
criminal background checks. Dispensaries must grow 70 percent of
their marijuana, a provision aimed at keeping tabs on where the drug
is being sold.

Even with the new rules, the future of dispensaries is unclear in
many cities and towns.

Aurora officials are considering whether to allow voters to decide
in November whether dispensaries in the city should be banned altogether.

Dacono Mayor Charles Sigman said he has been hesitant to support
dispensary restrictions because of possible legal action that could
be taken against the city.

"We don't want them in our community. I don't know anybody that
wants them in their community," Sigman said. "On the other hand, we
didn't want to open ourselves to a lawsuit or violate people's state
constitutional rights, either."

The city adopted regulations for a special-use permit for
dispensaries last fall, but officials approved a six-month
moratorium on new dispensaries last month after the Legislature
passed its medical marijuana bill.

"Now we have a leg to stand on," Sigman said. "Now that the state's
moving forward, let's go ahead and put our moratorium in place and
see how things play out."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.