MEDICAL POT PETITION HOLDS NO SWAY

Commissioners adopt resolution over objections of business owners,
supporters

Four people spoke at the Tuesday meeting of the Logan County
Commissioners on the consideration of the resolution to prohibit the
operation of medical marijuana centers in unincorporated Logan County.

Speaking against passage of the resolution were Allen Ramey of Logan
County, Dave Durfee of Logan County and Jim Clark of Washington
County. Speaking in agreement with passing the resolution was Linda
Gebauer of Logan County.

Commission Chairman Debra Zwirn requested those who wanted to speak to
say their names and the county where they lived and also allowed each
speaker five minutes.

Allen Ramey expressed his opinion that denying dispensaries to people
that have medical marijuana would be the same as to close all the
pharmacies and make everyone go a hundred miles to get their medication.

"Medication is medication and there are some people that need it and I
don't understand how anyone can just narrow-mindedly say no, you can't
have your medication locally," he said. "You have to figure out how to
overcome the hardships of figuring out how to drive a hundred miles to
get your medication."

Ramey said it would be like telling a heart patient that he has to
drive 100 miles to get his medication because they do not approve of
his medication.

"I really feel that it is wrong, even though the state has approved
medical marijuana," he said.

Ramey said he didn't think the commissioners had the right to speak
for him or any other person.

Dave Durfee said he was there on behalf of his patients as he is a
caregiver in Logan County and they had chosen him to represent them at
the meeting. He expressed concern that the commissioners' actions
would limit his patients' access to their medicine of choice.

"These are truly sick people, they are not teenagers," he said.
"Ninety-nine percent of my patients are older than me, none of them
yet 20 or 25. These are real people with real maladies and they really
get relief from the medicine that I provide."

Durfee presented a petition with signatures asking them to send the
issue to the voters.

Zwirn asked how many people were from Logan County and if they were
registered voters.

Durfee said that some of the names had been gotten from Washington
County and that it was not an official ballot petition.

Jim Clark of Washington County, who runs a dispensary there, said that
the figures the commissioners had used in their work session were from
other places.

He said that many would be glad to come to a meeting but they were
unable to get out of their houses and into a wheelchair before 11 or
12 in the morning and the 9 a.m. meeting by the commissioners was
impossible for them to attend.

He told of patients who are reducing their use of narcotics by using
medical marijuana.

"You guys are not considering the real people here, you are not
allowing them to vote," he said. "You are misquoting things and
providing information that is false to justify your banning this thing
here. It is an embarrassment to me and you people should be ashamed of
yourselves for not taking care of the elderly folks properly in this
area."

Linda Gebauer of Sterling said she had been a resident of Logan County
for 45 years and was on the City Planning Commission when this issue
was brought up.

"I would like to commend our commissioners for their foresight in just
stand up and say no to this," she said. "And I would like to know why
this gentleman from Washington County has come in and criticized the
elected officials of Logan County that represent the people of Logan
County (and what they) have decided to do for our good."

She stated that people who are in true need of this medication can get
it and she doesn't see the need for the dispensary.

She said that the residents of the county and city need to be aware
that these people are going around to get people to sign these petitions.

"Again I applaud our county commissioners, I applaud our city council
for having the guts to stand up to this," she said.

Zwirn then entertained a motion by Jim Edwards for approval of
Resolution 2010-36 prohibiting the operation of medical marijuana
centers, optional premises cultivation operations, and medical
marijuana-infused products manufacturers' licenses within the
unincorporated boundaries of Logan County. It was seconded by Jack
McLavey.

During further discussion, McLavey said, "I would not mind having this
issue going to a vote of the people, but we would be adding quite a
large cost to the taxpayers of Logan County if it does do that. The
medical marijuana is still available as I understand it. To those that
want it and need it, who go through proper procedures of getting
prescriptions from medical doctors so we are not eliminating the
ability to use medical marijuana. I think the travesty of this entire
thing, and I don't the people anticipated it being that when it was
passed, is it has been abused, used when you have dispensaries on
every block in some of the Denver areas, when you have doctors or
supposedly doctors who are writing 300 prescriptions a day, we can't
in my opinion subject the residents of Logan County to even the
possibility of those kind of things becoming prevalent here, therefore
I am voting to ban this business."

Commissioner Jim Edwards stated that McLavey had said everything he
needed to say.

Commissioner Zwirn said that 10 years ago when the voters approved
medical marijuana the word dispensary didn't even appear in the ballot
language but "thanks to ingenuity and entrepreneurship, we now have
this unintended consequence."

"The Logan County voters voted no almost two to one to having medical
marijuana and yet again we have the will of Colorado voters imposed on
this conservative northeastern county," she said.

"This resolution is not going to keep anyone who has a registration
from using and possessing a legal amount of medical marijuana, it is
not going to prohibit a care giver from having up to five clients,"
she said. "What it is going to do - it bans unlimited distribution of
marijuana in our county."

Durfee then responded that they are banning the legal patient's access
to marijuana - "You are not banning the possession or use but you are
making them to go out of the county to get it."

"As I understand we can still have caregivers with up to five
clients," Zwirn said.

"Or they (medical marijuana patients) can grow it themselves," Edwards
said.

The resolution was then approved unanimously by the Commission Board.