Pubdate: Thu, 3 Dec 2009
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2009 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Christopher N. Osher, The Denver Post
Cited: Denver City Council http://drugsense.org/url/NBUjV2N9
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries

DENVER CITY COUNCIL WEIGHS RULES FOR MEDICAL-MARIJUANA OUTLETS

Denver City Council members suggested Wednesday that they would bar 
people convicted of recent felonies from getting into the business of 
dispensing medical marijuana.

The council held no formal vote on a package of proposed regulations 
for dispensaries from Councilman Charlie Brown and agreed to meet in 
committee again Dec. 16.

City Attorney David Fine said Mayor John Hickenlooper's 
administration is reviewing the issue and would weigh in at the 
committee meeting in two weeks.

A full set of regulations likely will go before the council in January.

Brown originally had submitted a proposal that required applicants 
for marijuana dispensaries to state whether they had "ever been 
convicted of a felony, or of violating any federal, state or local 
law governing the manufacture, distribution, possession or use of 
controlled substances."

Sensitive that the issue would be debated, Brown noted on his draft 
proposal that the issue was subject to further discussion on just 
what should be a disqualifying conviction.

The broad language struck a few council members as too onerous.

Council members settled on felony convictions as the place to draw 
the line and decided a disqualifying felony conviction would be 
within five years of completion of a sentence.

Councilman Chris Nevitt said he thought using recent felonies as a 
disqualification was a compromise that would work, but he cautioned 
against overregulating the industry.

Nevitt said the city doesn't do criminal background checks for those 
who want to open doughnut shops or jewelry stores. He noted medical 
marijuana once was deemed illegal by state officials, so it wouldn't 
be a surprise if some of those getting into the business might have 
had brushes with the law.

"Joe Nacchio might want to open a medical-marijuana dispensary as a 
way to rehabilitate himself, and I would say more power to him," 
Nevitt said, alluding to the former Qwest chief executive, convicted 
of insider trading. "I might advise his employees to keep an eye on 
the books, though."

Brown also wants to bar on-site smoking or consumption of marijuana 
at dispensaries, a stance he said probably will be hotly debated at 
the next meeting. Some dispensary operators have said on-site smoking 
provides a therapeutic benefit, but Brown worries about people 
driving impaired.

He also wants to require licensing of dispensaries and installation 
of security cameras at dispensaries. Brown also would bar 
dispensaries that commence operation on or after Dec. 1 from locating 
within 500 feet of any school or child-care establishment and from 
locating within 1,000 feet of another dispensary.

Councilman Doug Linkhart said he might have a problem with banning 
dispensaries from locating within 1,000 feet of each other, pointing 
out that bars don't have the same prohibition. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake