Pubdate: Fri, 11 Jun 2010
Source: Steamboat Pilot & Today, The (CO)
Copyright: 2010 The Steamboat Pilot & Today
Contact: http://www.steamboatpilot.com/submit/letters/
Website: http://www.steamboatpilot.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1549
Author: Brian Smith

MOFFAT COUNTY COMMISSION EXTENDS POT DISPENSARY MORATORIUM

The Moffat County Commission has decided to continue  its freeze on
medical marijuana dispensaries.

At a special meeting Thursday, the commission approved,  3-0, a
resolution prohibiting dispensaries from opening  in unincorporated
parts of the county for six months.

The commission originally approved a moratorium in  December 2009 to
stall any dispensaries from opening  until the state could regulate
the industry.

The commission met in May to discuss its options for  extending the
moratorium, and to examine Colorado House  Bill 10-1284. The bill is a
regulatory bill which  addresses several issues surrounding the
medical  marijuana industry in Colorado, including dispensary
regulation and county rights.

Gov. Bill Ritter signed the bill into law Monday and it  will take
effect July 1.

The bill gives the commission several options,  including prohibiting
the medical marijuana industry in  the county with the exception of
residents with  caregiver status or residents with a medical marijuana
  license, county attorney Jeremy Snow said.

The county also can adopt the state's regulations or  draft its own,
which can be no less stringent than the  state's,

Snow said.

The county can also pass another moratorium until July  2011 or let
voters decide if they want a ban of  dispensaries in the county, Snow
said.

The resolution, drafted by Snow, states "it is in the  best interests
of the health, safety, and welfare of  the citizens of Moffat County"
to temporarily prohibit  the construction of dispensaries, growing
operations  and all other land uses associated with the dispensing  of
medical marijuana for commercial, non-profit or  cooperative uses.

The moratorium does not apply to certified medical  marijuana users
for their own use.

Commissioner Tom Mathers made the motion to adopt the
resolution.

"If he did sign (the bill), we still need some time to  aE& figure out
what he signed before we can put rules  and regulations in anyways, so
we still need a six  month moratorium," he said.

Commissioner Tom Gray said he voted for the  moratorium's extension
because the county doesn't have  a "baseline" to draft its own
regulations.

"I want to emphasize this isn't just, 'Well, let's  sweep it under the
rug for six more months and deal  with it later,'" he said after the
meeting. "I think it  is absolutely credible to say it doesn't make
sense to  formulate your own regulations until we know what  degree
the state is at."

The commission also discussed the possibility of  placing the matter
on the ballot for November's general  election.

"If you do put it up for a county election, regardless  of what rules
come out, if the decision is 'No, we are  not going to ban this, we
want you to regulate,' then  we can start looking at the regulations,"
Snow said.  "But by then aE& almost six months have gone by and we
are more likely to have something in place."

Commissioner Audrey Danner requested a meeting with  Snow in mid-July
to discuss the progress of state rules  and regulations before the
county reaches the July 23  deadline for proposing ballot questions.

Mathers said he would consider advocating for putting  the issue on
the ballot depending on the state's  regulations and what feedback he
hears from the public.

However, Mathers said he has not received any feedback  from residents
on either side of the issue.

"I guess there are some things we should just be able  to sit down and
make a decision (on) because we are  elected officials by the public,"
he said after the  meeting. "But sometimes, if you get to an issue,
you  almost have to put it out to a vote aE& to get more a  feeling as
to what the people really thought other than  the people that you talk
to on a daily basis, that are  your supporters."

As for how the county would manage the medical  marijuana industry,
Danner said the county would soon  investigate drafting its own
regulations or adhering to  state regulations.

"We are not going to keep extending it," she said  referring to the
moratorium. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D