Pubdate: Thu, 05 Nov 2009
Source: Boulder Weekly (CO)
Copyright: 2009 Boulder Weekly
Contact:  http://www.boulderweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/57

Pot Prohibition?

It's been about a month since every single candidate for Boulder City 
Council, including three incumbents, told the Boulder Weekly in an 
election Q&A that they would oppose banning medical marijuana 
dispensaries in the city.

Then we got a copy of a city staff memo this week that outlines 
options for regulating the industry, one of which is to require all 
businesses to adhere to federal laws.

Since the feds don't allow growing or purchasing marijuana, such a 
move would effectively ban all dispensaries in town.

Curious. It seems to be a bit of an overreaction, especially 
considering the somewhat more reasonable steps that have been taken 
by other, more uptight cities and towns in the area, such as enacting 
moratoriums until the legal landscape regarding dispensaries is clearer.

Why get ahead of the state legislation that is being drafted by Colorado Sen.

Chris Romer for the 2010 session? Why would a city begin adopting 
regulations that could then be trumped by state law in a matter of 
months? Why, when President Barack Obama recently handed down 
guidance to his federal agents to leave this matter to the states, 
would the city of Boulder turn around and defer to the feds? We trust 
that cooler heads on the Boulder Planning Board - and, more 
importantly, the newly elected members of City Council - will prevail 
in finding a way to avoid penalizing a new, voter-approved industry 
simply based on paranoia and misperceptions.

Everyone expects some degree of zoning and regulation to occur, but 
this heavyhanded approach should never have been proposed by city 
staff in a place like Boulder.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom