GROWTH SITES WEIGH SECURITY

As the medical marijuana industry continues to grow in Colorado, one
question that remains for state and local officials is how to provide
effective regulation for cultivation centers that are cropping up
throughout the state.

House Bill 1284, the most current legislation impacting medical
marijuana in the state, establishes a dual regulation system, meaning
both local and state governments have a degree of control over the new
crop making its mark in Colorado.

How those entities could potentially regulate the growth of marijuana
for medical purposes, however, remains cloudy.

"Part of the authority belongs to the state," said Matt Cook, senior
director of the state department of revenue's enforcement group, which
is tasked with overseeing medical marijuana. "Obviously it will have
to be grown in a zone that is compatible with the use and will receive
the same regulatory oversight that other licensed businesses receive.
The grow operations, infused products manufacturers and dispensaries,
all of them will have essentially the same oversight."

Due to security risks and the possibility of an increase in crime, any
location growing marijuana for commercial medical purposes will have
to undergo strict scrutiny, according to Cook.

"Obviously, any place that medical marijuana is grown, stored, sold,
harvested - it will have to be a limited access area," Cook said.
"Only people who are licensed will have access, and that limited
access area will be under 24/7 Web-based video surveillance and a DVR
backup off-sight for at least two weeks. That is how we intend to
regulate it."

State regulations, which are currently being drafted, will mandate
certain safety precautions, but local governments will have the
opportunity to issue more restrictive guidelines in their
communities.

The Montezuma County Board of Commissioners has yet to address the
regulation of cultivation centers in unincorporated areas of the
county. A public hearing is planned for 10:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 30, in
the commissioner's hearing room at the Montezuma County Courthouse,
109 W. Main St., Cortez.

"I don't really make guesses anymore," said County Administrator
Ashton Harrision. "I think we will look at adopting local regulations
that would, of course, have to comply with the state regulations. It
would take many months to get a set of regulations together of how to
regulate that industry."

If Montezuma County commissioners choose to allow the medical
marijuana industry to operate in the county, they will be able to look
at other counties that have already started to regulate growth sites.
Marijuana can be grown in a wide variety of locations, from closets to
large agricultural plots, and as a result many counties throughout the
state are seeking to regulate cultivation and growth through land use
codes.

Pueblo and Boulder counties are examples of regulation through
zoning.

In Boulder County, commissioners limited growth of the industry by
isolating dispensaries and growth sites to retail or industrial areas,
which are few and far between in unincorporated parts of the county.
Cultivation centers, due to their unique nature, were classified as
manufacturing or industrial operations rather than traditional
agriculture.

In Pueblo County, regulations are still being written, but
commissioners are considering an amendment to zoning
regulations.

"We are simply going to define it and make it a use by right in our
A1, which is a minimum three-to five-acre agriculture classification
and A2, which is minimum five-acre classification," said Kim Headly,
director of planning and development for Pueblo County. "Those are the
two largest agricultural zoning classifications that we have."

While offsite cultivation centers are allowed under HB 1284, local
dispensary owner Dave Krzysztofiak believes most growth should happen
at the dispensary.

"We grow on-site," said Krzysztofiak, owner of Herbal Alternative.
"Personally, I think if they are going to let any dispensaries do an
off-facility operation, they shouldn't exceed 30 percent of the size
of the actual facility. If the facility is 10,000 square feet the
growth site shouldn't be more than 3,000 (square feet)."

Krzysztofiak cites safety concerns for his insistence growth sites be
controlled. Herbal Alternative has an integrated security system
linked to the police station and Krzysztofiak believes placing
cultivation centers out in the county is a risk.

"If you do that then you have it near other homes and people," he
said. "It basically becomes a safety issue rather than having it all
at the dispensary."

The most difficult aspect of providing regulation for the burgeoning
industry is crafting a set of local guidelines when state regulations
have not yet been solidified, according to both Headly and Harrision.

"I don't know if the county is going to attempt to develop its own
(regulations) or let the state standards come in by default," Headly
said. "You don't want to be duplicating (the state's) licensing
provisions, but at the same time you don't want to be vastly
different. A lot of the detail is going to come out of the state
regulations, and nobody wants to get too far ahead of it."

Harrison agrees and expressed concern over the efficacy of dual
regulation.

"It is really a checkerboard of laws," he said. "I've never really see
that work before."

State regulations are expected by July 2011.