EAGLE COUNTY POT DISPENSARIES MOBILIZE AS VOTE LOOMS

EAGLE COUNTY, Colo. -- Medical marijuana dispensary owners throughout
Eagle County are mobilizing to try and convince Eagle County voters to
vote "yes" on ballot issue 1B.

Dispensary owners and employees have formed EMMBA, the Eagle Medical
Marijuana Business Alliance, in an effort to get everyone from their
patients to everyday residents to understand why the alliance believes
medical marijuana shops should continue to operate locally.

Eagle County's ballot issue 1B will ask voters whether medical
marijuana businesses should be allowed to continue to operate in
unincorporated Eagle County, subject to regulations as determined by
the Board of County Commissioners.

"I think it's a little bit scary that (medical marijuana) was voted on
10 years ago, and now they're trying to ban them," said Tia David,
manager at Rocky Mountain High dispensary in Edwards.

The Eagle County Commissioners could have voted to ban dispensaries
outright but chose to let voters decide Nov. 2. The towns of Vail,
Avon and Gypsum have banned medical marijuana shops. The town of Eagle
hasn't voted on the matter and currently has one shop operating in
town, although the town rejected an application from the Sweet Leaf
Pioneer dispensary to expand its shop last month.

The town of Minturn also has a ballot question Nov. 2, asking whether
voters should ban the businesses.

EMMBA is hosting a voter registration drive tonight at Paddy's in
Eagle-Vail, where they'll serve free food and beer and help people
register to vote online. The deadline to register to vote in time for
the Nov. 2 election is Monday.

"We decided we would pull together for the election," said John
Guarisco, a volunteer at the New Hope Wellness Center in Edwards.

Kim Barbieri, owner of the New Hope Wellness Center, said the group
will be posting signs around the county encouraging people to vote yes
on 1B.

Barbieri also said the New Hope Wellness Center has a radio
advertisement, and each of the businesses in EMMBA have changed their
print and radio advertisements to include the group's new slogan,
"Remember to vote, keep your center afloat."

Bryan Swanton, owner of the Tree Line Dispensary in Eagle-Vail, is a
big asset for the group since he sits on the state rule-making
committee for House Bill 1284, the bill that regulates the medical
marijuana industry in the state. Swanton helps relay a lot of
information back to the local dispensaries to make sure everyone knows
the laws and continues to follow them, which is a big reason why the
group formed aside from the election, Guarisco said.

As of Saturday, EMMBA still hadn't registered with the Secretary of
State's campaign finance office as a political committee. State law
requires groups of two or more people or organizations who support or
oppose a ballot issue or ballot question to report expenditures and
activities to the state.