Pubdate: Wed, 07 Jul 2010
Source: Vail Daily (CO)
Copyright: 2010 Vail Daily
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wo3Ts7AI
Website: http://www.vaildaily.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3233
Author: Lauren Glendenning

VAIL BANS POT SHOPS

Town leaders say dispensaries don't belong in family resort community

VAIL, Colorado -- The town of Vail doesn't want pot shops in its 
resort community. The Vail Town Council voted Tuesday night to ban 
medical marijuana dispensaries effective immediately-- a move made 
possible by a bill Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law last month.

The bill gives local governments the right to regulate and allow 
dispensaries -- to put the measure on the November ballot for voters 
to decide or ban them all together.

Vail Town Council members said at a June 1 meeting they would ban the 
businesses once Ritter signed the law allowing it, citing the shops 
have no business operating in a destination ski resort town.

The town approved a 180-day moratorium on dispensaries on Jan. 19 in 
order to wait for the Colorado General Assembly to decide on how the 
state would regulate the medical-marijuana industry. The moratorium 
prevented any dispensaries from opening within the town.

Councilwoman Margaret Rogers was the only dissenting council member. 
She said the town could regulate the dispensaries, keep them in 
certain parts of town and, more importantly, collect tax revenues 
from the businesses.

Rogers spoke with city of Boulder officials last week who expect to 
have an additional $250,000 in sales tax revenues from dispensaries 
within one year, Rogers said.

"That's a lot of money," Rogers said. "We are always looking to 
generate revenue without having to increase sales taxes and lodging 
taxes and real estate taxes."

Mayor Dick Cleveland said that the 546 current medical marijuana 
cardholders in Eagle County make up less than one percent of the 
population -- not compelling enough to see the need for dispensaries 
within Vail.

He said if people in town have to drive to Walmart to buy necessities 
such as underwear, it shouldn't be that inconvenient for marijuana 
cardholders to drive downvalley, too.

"This shouldn't be seen as a referendum on medical marijuana (in 
general)," Cleveland said. "That's not what this is about."
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart