DISPENSARY OWNER TO ASK OAK CREEK TOWN BOARD IF HE CAN OPEN MARIJUANA
KITCHEN

Steamboat Springs -- Oak Creek medical marijuana dispensary owner Jacob
Wise plans to ask the Town Board tonight to allow him to open a
kitchen where he can prepare marijuana-based foods.

Wise will speak to the Oak Creek Town Board at a meeting at 7 p.m.
today in Oak Creek Town Hall. The Oak Creek Planning Com-mission
a--p---p-roved Wise's proposal at its last meeting, and now it's up to
the Town Board to determine whether the wholesale business can open in
Oak Creek.

At a May meeting, Wise told Town Board members that he's trying to
change his business model as a result of having more patients.

"My attitude on business has changed a little bit as I see more people
coming in the door who actually need the product, which I think is a
blessing," he said.

Wise said Wednesday that he hopes to create tinctures -- liquids using
the oils from marijuana plants -- along with high-end truffles and
chocolate food bars in the kitchen. He said he plans to sell the items
wholesale to other dispensaries.

He said there will be no sugar and the foods will be
gluten-free.

"Nothing but a total health approach, not just a sweet snack to get
high on," he said.

He said he already has lined up several Oak Creek residents to cook
and manage the facility.

The kitchen is planned for 209 Nancy Crawford Blvd., about a block
away from Town Hall.

The Town Board can choose to accept the Planning Commission's
recommendation, and it also can impose restrictions on the
application. Wise said he expects the board to come up with some sort
of tax on his business. The town does not have a wholesale tax law in
place now and would have to create something new for the business.

At tonight's meeting, the Town Board also will revise a medical
marijuana cultivation moratorium to reflect new state laws signed into
effect earlier this month.

The town also will consider a final pay application for K.R.
Swerdfeger Construction's sewer work. The board voted in May to
withhold at least some of the payment because some lines from homes
were not reconnected to the main sewer line after construction.