MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW FIRES UP DEBATE

LAKEWOOD - Medical marijuana dispensaries would have to fire employees
who have not lived in Colorado for two years, under a potential new
rule that state regulators considered Monday.

Marijuana retailers oppose the plan, saying it interferes with their
right to hire employees, and some are threatening a lawsuit.

The dispute stems from the marijuana regulation bill the Legislature
passed this spring, House Bill 1284. The bill set up a system for
licensing marijuana shops and cultivation operations, but it left the
job of working out details to the Department of Revenue.

On Monday, the department's State Licensing Authority held an
emergency hearing to consider the residency rules. Matt Cook, head of
the state's new medical marijuana licensing division, asked for the
rule.

HB 1284 requires dispensary owners to be Colorado residents for two
years, and it also requires their employees to be Colorado residents.

About three dozen people turned out for the hearing, many of whom were
dispensary owners and their lawyers, who asked regulators to waive the
two-year residency requirement for employees.

Cook said his division would not seek proof of residency from
employees until January, after the Legislature convenes. He would not
oppose a new bill from the Legislature in 2011 to allow employees to
escape the two-year requirement, he said.

"Unfortunately, at this point, the statutory mandates are the
statutory mandates, and I get paid to follow the statutes. I don't get
to pick and choose which ones I get to follow," Cook said.

Jessica Corry, a lawyer who pushes for lighter regulation of
marijuana, said the state has no right to exclude nonresidents from
running businesses or working in Colorado.

"It is an egregious violation of the U.S. Constitution and state
constitution," Corry said.

She promised to sue the state if the rule is adopted.

"We're talking about lawsuits that could cost the state money, and
that's not fair to the taxpayer," Corry said.

Cook said he expected a decision from the licensing authority soon.