COUNTY COMMISSIONERS VOTE ON RULES FOR MEDICAL POT

Local License Process Fee Will Cost $3,000; All Marijuana Business
Required to Have It

With a unanimous vote Tuesday, La Plata County commissioners created
a new set of licensing regulations and fees for the county's
flourishing medical marijuana industry.

"In a matter of months, we pulled together a whole new structure,"
said Interim County Manager Joanne Spina as she applauded staff
members for their work on the project.

Medical marijuana businesses are required under local land-use rules
and state laws to have a local license. The fee to go through the
process will be $3,000, commissioners decided.

The amount is slightly more than about the $2,700 county officials
estimate it will cost to vet and make a determination on each
application. That figure could change, however, to reflect the
program's actual costs in coming years. Elected officials have
directed county staff to neither make nor lose money on the regulatory process.

The regulations strive to ensure medical marijuana cultivators,
processors and sellers have the appropriate permissions to do their
work. They also aid in the county's efforts to protect the safety and
security of those businesses, as well as their employees and
neighbors, by authorizing building inspections, requiring fire-code
compliance and demanding disclosure to emergency-response agencies
about the hazardous chemicals and materials on medical marijuana
operation sites.

The hallmark legislation adds to a temporary set of countywide
land-use regulations passed earlier this year for the cultivation and
sale of the drug, which remains illegal under federal law but is
allowed for some medical purposes under state law.

Much of the industry and the regulatory processes guiding it remain
new to most involved, county officials said. And it could make
finding a hearing officer to administer the local rules and fees more
difficult.

"There are not a lot of folks out there with experience in this right
now," County Attorney Sheryl Rogers told commissioners.

Rogers said her department has created a job description for the
post, and they will be seeking someone with a law-enforcement or
legal background.

Only one representative from the marijuana industry attended the
meeting to offer comments. A representative for Durango Organics
requested the county work to keep fees low, saying they're already
bearing a formidable financial burden from various layers of regulation.

Commissioner Wally White said this should improve.

"I'm hoping in the future, if things continue on a smooth track ...
these fees will come down as we streamline the process more," he said.