COUNTY TO LET VOTERS DECIDE ON MED MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

Custer County voters will go to the voting booth in November to decide
whether to allow medical marijuana dispensaries in the county.

The decision to take the matter to the voters was made during the
commissioners' regular meeting on Tuesday, July 6.

Also, the current county moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries
has been extended until the results of the Nov. 2 election.

Colorado House Bill 10-1284 regarding medical marijuana was recently
signed into law.

The new law sets up a state and local licensing process for medical
marijuana centers or dispensaries as they are commonly called.

Also contained in the new law is a local option to allow or prohibit
the dispensaries.

That option can be exercised by the local governing board, which in
this case is the Custer County commissioners, or by the voters.

Letting the voters decide was the route county commissioners Lynn
Attebery, Jim Austin and Carole Custer decided to take.

Prior to making their decision, the commissioners heard from county
sheriff Fred Jobe.

Jobe urged the commissioners to not allow medical marijuana
dispensaries in Custer County.

Jobe cited concern about what message medical marijuana dispensaries
would send to youth.

He also noted that when Colorado voters in 2000 passed Colorado
Amendment 20, known as the Medical Use of Marijuana Act, dispensaries
were not addressed.

"Not allowing dispensaries does not change what the voters did in
2000,"said Jobe.

Jobe further said that while Amendment 20 passed statewide, local
voters turned it down by a 1,203 to 649 vote.

"A majority of the county was against it then, and I think even more
would be against it now," said Jobe.

He concluded by saying, "Let's opt out of dispensaries and keep it the
way the voters intended."

Following Jobe's recommendation, the commissioners unanimously decided
to let the voters decide.

Just like the county commissioners, the trustees with the towns of
Westcliffe and Silver Cliff will have three options: decide not to
allow dispensaries within the town limits, allow dispensaries and thus
put rules together to regulate them, or take the matter to a vote of
the people.

Officials with both towns are expected to discuss the matter in the
near future.