PETITION SEEKS ELECTION ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA CENTERS

A petition drive aimed at asking Fort Collins voters whether medical
marijuana businesses should be allowed in the city has yet to hit the
halfway point of its goal for signatures, supporters say.

Petition passers have until July 19 to turn in the signatures of 4,214
registered Fort Collins voters to the City Clerk's Office to advance a
proposed ordinance that would ban marijuana businesses, including
dispensaries and grow operations, from the city.

If enough signatures are collected, the City Council could enact the
ordinance as written or refer it to voters. Supporters of the ban are
requesting a special election in November.

Supporters hope to collect at least 6,500 signatures by the deadline
because the clerk's office is likely to find many signatures are not
valid, said Bob Powell, chairman of the group Concerned Fort Collins
Citizens.

Progress on the drive has been slow, with volunteer petitioners
running into "a fair amount of apathy," he said. But proponents of the
ban believe the presence of medical marijuana businesses in the city
is an issue voters should be able to decide.

"We recognize that there are legitimate medicinal uses for marijuana,"
Powell said. "But is our distribution system such that it produces
unintended consequence? That's our concern."

Opposition to the petition drive and the ballot issue, if the matter
goes to an election, is being led by the group Citizens for Safer
Neighborhoods.

Banning medical marijuana centers would deprive patients of the
medicine and professional guidance they need to treat ailments such as
chronic pain and muscle spasms, said Terri Gomez, campaign manager for
the group.

Patients would have to go to a caregiver who grows marijuana in a home
setting to get their medicine or potentially the black market if
centers are shut down, she said.

"It would push medical marijuana out of highly regulated and secured
centers and into neighborhoods," Gomez said.

Centers offer patients assurances they are receiving a quality
product, she said. Commercial facilities can test for mold and
pesticides, offer a variety of strains that are effective against
specific health problems, and provide delivery methods other than
smoking, such as edibles, tinctures and even suppositories.

"You want to know (production) is being done in a licensed, regulated,
sanitary condition," she said. "You don't want this happening in
someone's kitchen or bathroom."

Colorado voters approved an amendment to the state Constitution in
2000 permitting the use of marijuana to treat qualifying, debilitating
medical conditions.

The retail dispensary model for distributing marijuana blossomed about
two years ago after the U.S. Department of Justice said the Drug
Enforcement Agency would not use its resources against those who
follow the state's medical marijuana laws.

State law allows municipalities to ban medical marijuana businesses
from their jurisdictions. Loveland, Windsor and Greeley have banned
marijuana shops.

Larimer County also has banned marijuana businesses in unincorporated
areas, although two centers just outside Fort Collins city limits that
started the county's land-use review process before the ban was
enacted eventually were approved by the county commissioners.

Several others proposed businesses were not approved by the county,
primarily over concerns about neighborhood compatibility.

In Fort Collins, city staff and the City Council went through a long
process of establishing regulations for licensing dispensaries and
grow operations, including restricting them to commercial and
industrial zoning districts. The city has 21 medical marijuana
centers, according to the City Clerk's Office.

Critics say Fort Collins is becoming the "weed capital" of Northern
Colorado because it allows dispensaries and is sending a message to
the city's youths that marijuana use is acceptable and harmless.
Marijuana is still illegal under federal law.

Powell said the retail dispensary model leads to an overproduction of
marijuana that eventually reaches the black market, making it readily
available for recreational users.

Supporters of the petition drive are studying whether the area has
seen an increase in illegal marijuana use and production and the
possible connection to marijuana businesses, he said.

"That's an unintended harm and something we should talk about as a
community," he said.

Steve Ackerman, owner of Organic Alternatives and president of the
Northern Colorado Medical Marijuana Business Council, said he doubts
the data will support the contention that more marijuana is
circulating illegally in the community.

Marijuana grown by dispensaries is monitored by the states and has to
be accounted for, he said. The price of marijuana at his shop -
between $80 and $90 for a quarter ounce - is higher than prices on the
streets, he said.

"There's no profit motive for someone to come in here and buy it from
us and sell it to someone else," he said. "There's just no margin."