MEDICAL MARIJUANA APPEARS TO BE HEADED FOR GRAND COUNTY BALLOT

Gov. Bill Ritter has signed into law two measures intended to rein in
the recent proliferation of marijuana dispensaries and growers in Colorado.

One law requires that only doctors in good standing be allowed to
recommend medical marijuana. It creates strict oversight of doctors
making recommendations, red-flagging those that make too many. It
also specifies the level of screening and follow-up that should be
provided to patients using medical marijuana.

The second law creates a uniform set of rules for marijuana
dispensaries and growers statewide, giving municipalities the
authority to allow or prohibit dispensaries by vote of the board or
by referring a question to the voters. Citizens also may initiate the measure.

Grand County municipalities seeking to put the questions to voters in
the November election must let the county clerk and recorder know
that they plan to do so by July 23. Ballots for the September
election must be certified Sept. 3.

As of October 2009, 101 patients in Grand County were registered
medical marijuana users, according to statistics provided by the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The actual number is likely higher today, said CDPHE spokesman Mark W. Salley.

"The department has been inundated with applications in recent
months," he said. CDPHE receives more than 1,000 applications each
day, and less than half of those are processed each day.

"So, as you can imagine, we have a significant backlog," he said.

The CDPHE estimates that there are currently some 94,000 people on
the registry in Colorado.

Other aspects of the state law include:

In places where dispensaries are allowed, the bill imposes a minimum
1,000-foot spacing requirement from schools, residential childcare
centers and drug treatment facilities, but it allows local government
to increase these distances.

The law requires owners to undergo criminal background checks and
meet residency requirements. And, it limits the hours of operation
for "medical marijuana centers" to between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Medical marijuana centers will be required to grow 70 percent of the
marijuana they sell, a provision aimed at keeping tabs on where the
drug is being sold. The legislation also regulates places that sell
marijuana-infused products (such as baked goods) and independent
growing operations not affiliated with dispensaries.

State and local sales taxes will apply to the sale of all medical
marijuana, the legislation states, allowing towns and counties to
recoup some of the cost incurred by law enforcement and staff in
places where medical marijuana centers are allowed.

Localities that do prohibit the centers may not prohibit patients
from growing their own medical marijuana or a caregiver from
providing marijuana for up to five patients. 

The new law with regards to caregivers goes into effect July 1.

For municipalities deciding to allow medical marijuana centers, local
licenses can only be issued to applicants who have filed prior to
July 1. A statewide moratorium on new medical marijuana facilities
goes into effect July 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011.

Any municipality or county that fails to act on the new law by July
1, 2011, will automatically default to the state's regulations
regarding medical marijuana.

The status of the issue in Grand County follows.

Grand County

Operating under a moratorium county commissioners extended to Dec.
31, 2010, commissioners have resolved to direct staff to form
questions to put on the November ballot. While the county's elected
officials spent time debating the fiscal and social impacts of
allowing medical marijuana centers, "It's more up to the people,"
said commissioner James Newberry.

Winter Park

In December, Winter Park became one of the first municipalities in
Colorado to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries within town
limits. Reasons given for enacting the ban included the more
conservative cultural sensibilities of Winter Park's visitors and
protecting the safety of the town's children.

District Judge Mary Hoak upheld, June 9, the Town of Winter Park's
denial of a business license application from Jerry Hidoshi Inc. and
Anthony Yu to operate a medical marijuana dispensary within town
limits. Hoak ruled that the case was moot in light of the recent
enactment of House Bill 1248, which allows towns and municipalities
to ban medical marijuana facilities.

Fraser

The Town of Fraser, which recently extended its moratorium on
dispensaries in town through November, will meet Wednesday, June 16,
to discuss options for complying with the new state statutes. Town
manager Jeff Durbin said the planning commission has in hand a draft
zoning ordinance to allow medical marijuana centers within certain
areas of town. Durbin said the town board may also choose to put the
issue before voters on the ballot in November.

Granby

The Town of Granby passed an emergency moratorium on medical
marijuana dispensaries in September 2009 and has since renewed that
moratorium. The town board recently discussed putting the question to
voters on the November election ballot about whether to allow medical
marijuana centers in town.

Grand Lake

The Town of Grand Lake is operating under a moratorium on medical
marijuana centers within town limits. On June 14, the board talked
about outright banning medical marijuana centers and is in the
process of planning public hearings to that effect. "I don't want to
see [centers] in my little town. It would trash up the town," said
trustee Benton Johnson, who grouped medical marijuana dispensaries in
the same category as adult book shops and strip clubs. If during the
public hearings, however, the public speaks strongly in favor of
putting the issue to vote, the board said it would also consider that
possibility. The town's timeframe is tightly constrained by the
county clerk's July 23 deadline for joining the ballot initiative.

Hot Sulphur Springs

The Hot Sulphur Board of Trustees adopted a moratorium in December
2009 that expires in September 2010. The issue of medical marijuana
centers will return to the board's agenda when it meets June 17. "The
board has really just been in a wait and see mode," said town clerk
Sandy White. "They really wanted to find out what the state was going
to do first and then figure out where we need to be."

Kremmling

In March, Kremmling became the second town in Grand County and one of
the few in the state at the time to ban medical marijuana
dispensaries within its borders, after a unanimous vote of trustees.