PITKIN COUNTY DROPS MEDICAL MARIJUANA REGS

ASPEN -- Acting on advice from their attorney, who said adopting
medical marijuana regulations would put county employees in the
position of abetting the violation of federal drug laws, Pitkin County
commissioners voted 4-0 Wednesday to reject the proposed rules.

With that action, the county will have no zoning regulations
specifically aimed at the medical marijuana industry, including grow
sites, dispensaries and manufacturing facilities for pot-infused
products. The omission left Commissioner George Newman puzzled.

Acting on advice from their attorney, who said adopting medical
marijuana regulations would put county employees in the position of
abetting the violation of federal drug laws, Pitkin County
commissioners voted 4-0 Wednesday to reject the proposed rules.

With that action, the county will have no zoning regulations
specifically aimed at the medical marijuana industry, including grow
sites, dispensaries and manufacturing facilities for pot-infused
products. The omission left Commissioner George Newman puzzled.

"You know, we don't have zoning regulations for a variety of different
illegal activities," Ely assured him.

The county and other local jurisdictions in Colorado have until July 1
to establish their own regulations and licensing procedures for the
medical marijuana industry, or to prohibit such facilities altogether.
In jurisdictions that take no action, state standards will apply.

"The conduct that is contemplated in the statutes of Colorado is
illegal," Ely told commissioners. "I don't think the county should be
in the position of abetting the violation of federal law."

While commissioners could adopt the regulations in order to further
the national debate about whether marijuana should be illegal, asking
county employees to issue licenses to marijuana businesses and enforce
zoning laws related to medical marijuana puts them in a position of
potential criminal liability, Ely said.

"It's a tough position to put an employee in," he said.

"This is a fairly rare occurrence -- that he tells us we might be
doing something illegal," said Commissioner Michael Owsley, urging his
colleagues to follow Ely's advice. Commissioner Jack Hatfield,
attending a Colorado Counties Inc. meeting, was absent.

A state moratorium will prevent any new medical marijuana operations
from opening until July 1, 2012, noted Lance Clarke, deputy director
of community development for the county.

It's difficult to know what will happen between now and then, but Ely
predicted a "push-back" from the state over the county's refusal to
regulate the industry. The Colorado Department of Revenue wants local
jurisdictions to issue licenses to the dispensaries and associated
businesses, he said.

The county doesn't currently issue business licenses of any kind, but
in Aspen, where most of the local dispensaries are located, the city
does license businesses.

The state had intended to license medical marijuana businesses after
they received a license from a local jurisdiction, according to Clarke.

"I think the state is going to have to come up with a different system
than they had planned," he said, predicting other counties will also
decline to get involved.

Commissioner Rob Ittner called for a follow-up discussion, though, on
just what it will mean to let the state's rules apply to the industry
in Pitkin County.

"Where does that leave people? Where does that leave Pitkin County?"
asked Commissioner Rachel Richards.

Though county zoning won't specifically address medical marijuana, the
zoning code does set restrictions on what sorts of businesses in
general can operate in various places, Clarke said.

"You can't run a restaurant in your single-family home on Red
Mountain," he said.

Existing businesses would be allowed to continue, according to
Ely.

"We aren't involved with enforcement of federal law," he said before
the meeting.

Though the state of Colorado has enacted laws to regulate medical
marijuana, U.S. attorneys have warned that everyone from licensed
growers to government entities that regulate the industry could face
prosecution.

Individuals who are striving to comply with Colorado's evolving laws
in the operation of marijuana businesses could be exposed to
prosecution, said Ely, noting raids that have occurred in other states.

"Quite simply, they are open to prosecution," he said.

Whether the feds act is a matter of resources and inclination, Ely
added.

Contacted after the county discussion, Billy Miller, a co-owner of
local dispensary L.E.A.F. Aspen, said he is well aware of the
predicament.

"I do worry about it," he said. "It's definitely a fear. It's a
discussion among anybody who's in the business. The federal law could
still bite us in the ass."