COUNCIL DEADLOCKED OVER MEDICAL MARIJUANA

The debate to open the door to the medical marijuana industry in
Castle Rock proved too much for town council.

On June 22, council members failed to reach a consensus on the
matter, despite three votes to find a starting dialogue point.

Failure to reach a consensus was in part because one council member
is missing from the equation, leaving the town with a six-person council.

While most council members say their constituents oppose the industry
in Castle Rock, in recent months the town has attempted to gauge the
public's input on the matter, to no avail. Public meetings on medical
marijuana have generated little to no attendance from residents,
leaving council members to debate the matter without the benefit of
public comment.

The debate is magnified by the absence of council member Joe
Procopio, District 7. Procopio has not been in attendance at council
meetings because of health issues. Since early May, Procopio has
attended one council meeting.

His absence was most noticeable when council members debated which
motion to consider for a vote on medical marijuana.

The Town of Castle Rock adopted a moratorium on dispensaries through
the end of the year as council decides how to exercise its options.
With this year's passage of the state's medical marijuana code, all
local governments in Colorado have the option to ban medical
marijuana, adopt local licensing regulations for centers or send the
decision to a public vote.

Mayor Ryan Reilly, District 3, triggered the debate when he proposed
a motion to permit licensing of medical marijuana facilities and have
town staff prepare local regulations for council to consider. Reilly
hoped the regulations would provide a framework for discussion as
council decides whether to regulate the industry.

The motion failed when member Clark Hammelman, District 6, countered
with a motion to prohibit medical marijuana. A prohibition ordinance
would not require evaluation of licensing regulations and would
render a council decision without time-consuming research, he said.

"If we draft an ordinance that says we prohibit medical marijuana,
that is something concrete and the public can come in and say we want
you to allow it," Hammelman said. "We won't be bogged down in
discussing all these issues. We need to craft an ordinance that
allows us to clearly say yes or no."

Both proposals failed at the table when Reilly's proposal gained the
support of council members Mitch Dulleck, District 5, and Chip
Wilson, District 4. Hammelman's proposal was backed by Paul Donahue,
District 1, and Brian Logan, District 2.

A split vote results in no action on the part of town council, said
Mark Stevens, Castle Rock town manager.

After a motion to have town staff provide a report and analysis
failed, members reached a compromise. Logan proposed to direct staff
to prepare three motions for consideration, one to ban medical
marijuana, one to prepare licensing regulations and one to send the
matter to a public vote. His motion passed 4-2, with Hammelman and
Donahue dissenting.

Council aims to consider the three options in a July 20 public
meeting where they hope to generate some public input. The town has
until Aug. 24 to validate a ballot question.

"This is one of those topics that's just so polarizing it's
incredible," Logan said. "It pulls me into two different directions.
As a business owner I don't want the town prohibiting [commercial
activities], but on the other side, if I were to speak for my
constituents, I think I would favor a ban. I think in the public
comment process you would be able to hear all the arguments that are
out there."

Council received a single public comment from local dispensary owner
Amber Ostrom, who offered her expertise if council opts to draft
regulations. Ostrom distributed a flyer about her facility and said
she serves more than 800 patients in the area.

Stevens lamented the dearth of public input and agreed to place the
item on every council agenda in hopes to hit a meeting when all seven
members are present.

"It will be like the groundhog staff report, it will just keep coming
back," Stevens said. "We've had a lot of hearings and a lot of
discussion, but I don't know that we've had more than a handful of
people ever out to discuss this issue. We could set up July 20 as an
ultimate night for a report with a sample prohibition, regulatory
motion or voter referral. The 20th is wide open for this evening of
medical marijuana entertainment."