MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN LOVELAND VOTERS' HANDS

After more than four hours, the Loveland City Council ended discussion
about medical marijuana dispensaries in the city with a 7-2 vote early
Wednesday morning to suspend the licensing of such businesses, unless
Loveland voters decide otherwise this November.

A slew of passionate residents spoke to the council Tuesday night in
defense of legal, licensed marijuana dispensaries. Many claimed to be
card-carrying patients; others were business owners.

Some admitted purchasing marijuana illegally before it was available
as a legal medical treatment.

More than 33 people spoke in defense of the drug, a handful even
talking about their experiences with cancer and how much marijuana
helped them get through chemotherapy treatments.

Tom Wilczynski, owner of Cannabis Care & Wellness Center, was the
first to address the council. He described how he opened his three
dispensaries after his wife died of cancer.

"I never thought I'd be standing here," he said.

Wilczynski, who once worked for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., said he
is simply trying to operate a legitimate business and that he pays
proper taxes to follow the law.

"I believe in my patients," he said.

The vote

The City Council's decision was met with loud applause from audience
members who remained until the end of the discussion, around 12:30
a.m.

The two dissenting votes came from Council members Donna Rice and Hugh
McKean.

McKean clarified his vote with Loveland Connection on Wednesday. By
the end of the debate, the council's motion included language
declaring that the dispensaries already open in Loveland would have
"local approval" from the council.

The intent of the majority of the council was to have approved them,
he said, but McKean didn't agree with the point - one wrapped up in
the language of the ordinance itself.

"I voted 'no' not because I don't want it on the ballot, because I
do," he said. "It would have been my admission that had intended local
approval (of the previously existing dispensaries), but I did not."

At the meeting, Rice said she did not want the issue to go to the
ballot.

"I was elected to make decisions, and I am proud to do that," she
said. "I do not favor a vote of the people (on this issue.)"

The character of the city is something Rice said she wishes to
preserve and that marijuana is a gateway drug for Loveland's youths.

Need for laws

Much discussion about the issue focused on the difficult timing of
state regulations on such businesses and the city's need to create a
moratorium last fall.

Multiple City Council members asked City Attorney John Duval to draft
regulations that the council could put into place as soon as possible,
whether or not the voters choose to allow the dispensaries to operate.

"If the dispensary operations do not clean up their act, you run into
the public saying 'We want you out of town,' " council member Joan
Shaffer said. She specifically mentioned what kind of signs should be
allowed on dispensary buildings.

"References to getting high are unacceptable and cruel to (medical
marijuana) patients," she said.

Anthony Freitag, the 21-year-old owner of Paradise City Caregivers
LLC, a licensed medical marijuana dispensary in Loveland, said he
thinks rules and regulations for businesses like his are a must.

"We want to be as legit as we can, and it's hard to do when there
aren't any guidelines," he said. "We need a rubric or form telling us
what to do."

Freitag opened his first medical marijuana dispensary in Aurora when
he was 19. He then moved business to Fort Collins, then to Loveland,
where he was born and raised. He hopes to open a secondary shop in
Fort Collins soon, he said.

The campaign

Following the council's decision, Freitag said he and other licensed
dispensaries in the city will have to join together to get the ballot
measure passed this fall.

"We're going to come together as a team and sit down and see what the
best solution could be in helping to get this passed in November."

Despite the fact that many people move to Loveland to retire, he said,
he thinks there is a good chance voters will elect to keep the shops
open.

"After last night, people are seeing more of how it can benefit the
community, and they're realizing that maybe it's not such a bad
thing," he said.

At least two other Colorado cities have passed the issue to their
voters, Duval said.

According to Sensible Colorado, a medical marijuana advocacy group,
dispensaries can be found in 17 cities in the mid- and Northern
Colorado area.

[sidebar]

Police chief warns against marijuana dispensaries

While many Loveland residents passionately defended medical marijuana
businesses during a Tuesday Loveland City Council meeting, it was
clear that not all Lovelanders agree the dispensaries should exist.
Loveland police Chief Luke Hecker spoke against licensing medical
marijuana dispensaries within the city at the meeting.

Hecker presented information from a report summarizing
marijuana-related arrests and a study on the ill effects of marijuana
by the University of Mississippi's Research Institute of
Pharmaceutical Sciences. Many members of the public who spoke after
Hecker denied that the arrests were directly related to dispensaries
or that marijuana has ill effects on the body.

Vicki Peterson of Loveland said she was watching the City Council
meeting on TV at home, and after she heard the chief's comments, she
decided to "put on a suit" and drive down to City Hall to comment on
the issue herself. "I thought it was disingenuous of the chief and out
of context," she said.

Other painkillers, like Vicodin and Codeine, are just as dangerous,
she said.

Some facts from the police report, which is available at the front
desk of the Loveland police station, include:

Offense reports classified as sale/manufacture of marijuana and or
possession of marijuana occurring between Jan. 1 and April 30, by year:

2001 84

2002 77

2003 89

2004 81

2005 78

2006 81

2007 68

2008 124

2009 79

2010 120

In addition, there were 109 other violations included with the 120
marijuana violations in 2010, ranging from possession of a dangerous
or illegal weapon to aggravated motor theft.