CITY COUNCIL 'CONFLICTED' ABOUT RETAIL MEDICAL MARIJUANA CENTERS

With bans in place in Grand Junction and Paonia and the
unincorporated areas of Montrose and Delta counties, the City of
Delta may soon find itself a "mecca" for medical marijuana centers.

In the November election, 27 cities and towns statewide asked voters
whether marijuana retail outlets should be allowed or prohibited.

Only voters in Fraser and Minturn approved retail outlets. Paonia
voters not only rejected retail outlets, but grow operations in town as well.

Voters in Montrose County also rejected medical marijuana centers,
and the city is expected to follow suit.

Cody Magasich, co-owner of Natural Green Solutions in Delta, says
several Montrose area residents have already stopped in to see what
his medical marijuana center has to offer.

While Magasich and co-owner John Thomas are facing a great deal of
uncertainty, Delta City Council has backed away from a ban -- for
now. They rejected a ballot question in June, opted to hold a public
hearing instead, and are now considering leaving the issue up to
voters after all.

City council members had hoped to avoid the expense of an election by
conducting a public hearing to determine if the city should allow
medical marijuana dispensaries to operate within the city. A
moratorium is in place until May 3, 2011, preventing the
establishment of any additional medical marijuana dispensaries,
leaving Natural Green Solutions to monopolize the local market.

About a dozen people spoke at the hearing conducted by the city on
Oct. 26. Most were patients who described medical marijuana as a
"godsend." No one spoke out against medical marijuana centers.

"At this point I'm very conflicted," said Delta City Council member
Guy Pfalzgraff during a follow-up discussion at the Nov. 2 city
council meeting. "I'm not necessarily a great supporter of the
concept, but I heard the need [for medical marijuana]. I'm not
discounting that there's a lot of people who are against this, but
they didn't show up. They didn't say anything, and that's what
democracy is about."

"We held a public meeting, and we know what was said," Mayor Mary
Cooper commented. "If you follow that, we would have to opt in."

Two other council members are leaning in the other direction, while
the fifth remained silent.

Pfalzgraff said the one medical marijuana center in Delta seems to be
working, but he wants to monitor the business's operation closely to
ensure the state's new regulations are being followed.

In the end, council members decided to delay action until January.
Magasich and Thomas had hoped for a more definitive answer, but will
keep moving forward to meet the state's increasingly tougher regulations.

If the City of Delta decides to opt in, it can establish its own set
of licensing requirements, similar to those which govern liquor
stores. There would likely be a public hearing during which council
members could determine whether there is a need and a desire for
another retail outlet.

Although Magasich isn't opposed to competition, he doesn't believe
medical marijuana centers should be allowed to "pop up on every
corner in the city."

"I honestly think it should be based on population," he said.

If the city decides to ban retail outlets, John Thomas told council
members there is a down side. "If you opt out, it gives the caregiver
the right to have 19 patients," he said. "That's six plants a
patient, for a total of 114 plants. That's a lot of plants for one caregiver."