PETITIONERS WANT BAN ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA CENTERS

Petitioners asking for a ban on medical marijuana centers, cultivation
operations and medical marijuana-infused products manufacturing in
Buena Vista said April 12 they plan to submit the completed petition
the last week of April or the first week of May.

Cornerstone Church pastor Brian Dengler said the required 90
signatures have been collected. The plan is to collect a few extra
signatures and then to submit the petition to Buena Vista town clerk
Mary Jo Bennetts. The deadline for submitting the petition is June
10.

Dengler and Cornerstone Church pastor Charlie Stoumbaugh filed the
petition Dec. 13 for the clerk's approval of the language of the petition.

The town clerk will have 10 days to verify the signatures on the
completed petition. If no protest is filed within 30 days of the date
of the submission, the petition will be submitted to the Town of Buena
Vista board of trustees for their approval or denial. If the trustees
deny the request of the petitioners, a special election will be held.

A medical marijuana center opened in Buena Vista at the end of
January, Natural Mystic Wellness Center at 204 E. Main St.

Regarding a question on what would happen to the existing medical
marijuana center if a ban were approved, town attorney Jeff Parker
said in an e-mail to The Times April 11, "I have not fully reviewed
this matter yet, because I would prefer not to charge the town for
legal work if the issue never arises, for example, the petitioners do
not obtain sufficient signatures. However, this issue arose in the
City of Loveland recently and the result was that the medical
marijuana businesses were forced to shut down."

In a November election, Loveland voters approved a
ban.

Medical marijuana sales, manufacture and cultivation were banned
within Poncha Springs April 5 when residents voted 2-1 against three
ballot questions.

No medical marijuana centers exist in Poncha Springs.