BRACING FOR WAVE OF MED-POT APPLICATIONS, BOULDER RENOVATES
OFFICE

Municipal Building Knocking Down Walls To House Licensing
Center

Anticipating a rush for applications from owners of medical marijuana
dispensaries and growing operations, the city of Boulder is literally
knocking down walls to make way for its first marijuana-licensing office.

The city is working to renovate an existing office at the Municipal
Building, 1777 Broadway, to manage what's expected to be a flood of
applications for medical marijuana business licenses.

State law requires dispensaries and growing operations to be licensed
by the Colorado Department of Revenue and by local governments, but
Boulder, like most cities, hasn't yet developed its application
process, or even the required paperwork.

The Boulder office, to be located across the hall from the city's
sales tax customer service window, will distribute applications that
require -- among other things -- background checks on dispensary
owners, business plans, security plans and a $3,000 application fee.

"Our goal, and we are just cranking on this around the clock, is to
have applications available by Aug. 2," said City Clerk Alisa Lewis,
who is in charge of managing the new licensing program.

Lewis said she expects to be inundated with applications and questions
for about the first month, with a steady stream of applications coming
in through the fall.

"We expect to have a quite a slew of them," she said. "We're trying to
be prepared for up to 50 or 60 applications during the month of August."

There's no exact count for existing dispensaries in Boulder, but the
city has issued about 80 sales-tax licenses to the businesses.

Lewis said the new applications -- which will also be available for
download on the city's Web site, bouldercolorado.gov -- will be
rejected if they are missing any information. The licensing office
will provide a checklist for applicants, but Lewis said the city will
"encourage people to utilize the assistance of an attorney."

Because of the applications' complexity, applicants will have to call
the city -- at a number that is not yet set up -- and make
appointments to turn in and review their completed packages, Lewis
said. She said the city is still working with a consultant to figure
out how to process all of the documents, and the office must make
technical upgrades.

It could be three to four months between an applicant submitting an
application and the city issuing the actual license, she said.

"It will not be a quick process," Lewis said.

The clerk will hire a temporary worker to help manage applications six
hours a day, and a part-time position could be expanded. The city is
trying to calculate the costs of administering medical marijuana
licenses by logging the hours spent on the issue by police, clerk's
staff, court officials, city planners and city attorneys.

Fees from applications and licenses are supposed to cover the added
expenses, but Lewis said it won't be clear until October whether
that's enough.

"It's just so new that we're really going to have a better sense after
the first month," she said.

Michael Bellingham, owner of the Boulder Medical Marijuana Dispensary,
at 2111 30th St., said he's just happy to get going on the licensing
process at all.

"My background is clean so I don't anticipate any hiccups," he said.
"I know there are a lot of people who have skeletons in the closet."

He said the city has been "wide open" in working to get dispensary
owners information on the new rules for medical marijuana, but there
is still a lot of uncertainty among the industry.

"The picture is not all that clear," he said. "We're all figuring this
out together."

Jennifer Labrecque, owner of the New Options Wellness dispensary at
2885 Aurora Ave., said she's also anxious to comply with new city and
state laws so she can focus on running her business.

"I'm just waiting for an application," she said. "I think most people
who want to stay in it are buckling down."

"Of course, people are still complaining about how difficult it is and
how expensive it is," she said.

[sidebar]

Medical marijuana application timeline

Aug. 1: Applications for a state license are due

Aug. 2: Applications for a Boulder license will likely be
available

Aug. 31: Applications for a Boulder license are due for businesses
that did not have a sales-tax license by June 17.

Oct. 31: Applications for a Boulder license are due for businesses
that did have a sales-tax license by June 17.