COUNTY TO DISCUSS COMMERCIAL GROW OPERATIONS

New State Regulations Leave Many Questions Unanswered

After placing a temporary moratorium on cannabis dispensaries in
unincorporated San Miguel County in April, officials must now address
a new question that is cropping up: how to permit applications for
grow facilities.

The Board of County Commissioners will discuss permitting "Optional
Premises Cultivation Operations" and other issues concerning the
booming medical cannabis industry during a work session on Wednesday.

County Planning Director Mike Rozycki said three businesses that are
licensed through the Town of Telluride are looking for county approval
to grow the majority of their cannabis in facilities in unincorporated
San Miguel County under an "Optional Premises Cultivation Operations"
permit. However, the county is unclear about land use codes and has
little direction from the state.

In June, Gov. Bill Ritter signed the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code,
which regulates medical marijuana dispensaries through the Department
of Revenue. The code boasts a long list of regulations, including a
requirement for facilities to cultivate at least 70 percent of their
cannabis product themselves, instead of outsourcing. That requirement
goes into effect on Wednesday.

Officials with the Department of Revenue told dispensaries to file an
application with their local licensing authority, but the county did
not anticipate approving grow operations.

"The state has reconfigured the rules, and now we're having to look at
how we're going to respond to it," said Commissioner Art Goodtimes.

Nothing will be voted on or decided on Wednesday, but the session will
be an opportunity to explain the new set of challenges and get some
direction from board members.

In April, the board set a moratorium on dispensaries through Oct. 31
to see how state regulations would pan out, but the moratorium may be
extended since the state has not yet provided guidance on local
licensing requirements.

A working group has been assembled in Lakewood, Colo. to recommend
draft rules for local licensing requirements to the Department of
Revenue's Marijuana Division, but the group held its first meeting
just last week, and isn't expected to draft the rules until the end of
2010.

Rozycki said the county's moratorium was not intended to ban
dispensaries altogether like other local governments.

"[The moratorium] gives things a little pause and an opportunity to
review the circumstances," Rozycki said.

Commissioners did approve two dispensaries -- Delilah LLC in Ilium
Valley and C&C Specialties LLC in Placerville -- in June because their
applications complied with the new legislation and they were in
somewhat urban areas.

For Goodtimes, the chair of the board, it's not a matter of licensing
the sale of a substance still deemed illegal by federal law, but a
matter of safety.

Goodtimes is in favor of dispensaries in Norwood or Telluride where
there are town marshals, but does not like the idea of dispensaries or
grow operations in rural areas where people could suffer the
consequences of an armed robbery.

"The county is not excited about seeing a proliferation of
dispensaries outside of our urban areas," Goodtimes said. "What we've
heard from California is [dispensaries] are vulnerable to armed
attacks. It's a lucrative crop and it puts everyone at risk."

The work session is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. on Wednesday morning on
the second floor of the Miramonte Building.