COUNCIL SEEKS TO REIN IN 'WILD WEST' MARIJUANA BUSINESSES

The Colorado Springs City Council is getting impatient to implement
rules that would govern the zoning of medical marijuana dispensaries
and related businesses.

Saying the city is turning into the Wild West of the medical marijuana
industry, council members said they want to get land-use regulations
on the books as soon as possible.

"We don't need ... people spinning arrows on our streets directing
people to dispensaries," Councilman Tom Gallagher said during Monday's
council meeting. "Dispensaries are only available to people that are
registered patients, OK? That's a very small percentage of the general
public, so we don't need to do American Furniture Warehouse kind of
advertising for a small number of people."

A local medical marijuana task force submitted a proposed land-use
ordinance to the city months ago. The latest version of that proposal
has been on hold for weeks.

Wynetta Massey, a deputy city attorney, said city staff believed that
council wanted to consider the proposed land-use ordinance and a
companion licensing ordinance at the same time. The city has been
waiting to draft its licensing ordinance because state licensing
regulations must be completed first, she said.

"We've been bogged down waiting for the Department of Revenue to issue
those regulations," she said.

Councilman Sean Paige, who spearheaded the medical marijuana task
force along with Gallagher, said he's "sick" of waiting for the state.

"The longer we delay, the longer we have the Wild West. The longer we
have the Wild West, the longer that something really could get out of
hand," Paige said. "I don't think we're quite there yet, but I don't
want to get there, so I just wish we could move it along."

The proposed land-use ordinance needs to "move up in priority," said
Councilman Randy Purvis, who opposes medical marijuana businesses.

"You drive down Colorado (Avenue) from downtown to Manitou and you can
count maybe a dozen of these businesses on the street," he said.
"They're literally putting 'marijuana' or 'cannabis' in the name of
their business. It's a situation that is out of control, quite frankly."

More than 450 medical marijuana businesses, including 176
dispensaries, are registered with the city.

Gallagher said businesses are posting price lists on their windows and
doing other things in violation of HB 1284, a bill signed into law by
Gov. Bill Ritter to regulate the industry.

"Right now, it looks like the Wild West is running the show,"
Gallagher said. "I'm really getting disturbed by what I see around
this town because that is not the direction of this council."