Pubdate: Tue, 02 Nov 2010
Source: Aspen Times, The  (CO)
Copyright: 2010 Aspen Times
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/zKpMPhQ7
Website: http://www.aspentimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3784
Author: Scott Condon

BASALT HARBORS NO 'REDNECK' ATTITUDE ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Moratorium On Dispensaries Necessary Until Rules Clarified, Officials Insist

BASALT - Basalt officials insist their moratorium on new medical 
marijuana dispensaries isn't intended to erect a bureaucratic 
roadblock or send a philosophical statement in Colorado's ongoing 
debate over pot.

The Basalt Town Council voted 4-0 last week to enact the moratorium 
for up to two years. The town staff proposed the temporary ban to 
provide time for the state to better define how it wants the budding 
industry regulated.

That could happen as soon as the 2011 legislative session which 
begins in January, said Basalt Town Manager Bill Kane, and if it 
does, the town will end the moratorium and resume the review of new 
applications for dispensaries.

Nobody wants to project an intolerant, redneck kind of attitude," Kane said.

But the current review process is proving costly and time-consuming, 
he said. Basalt estimates it spent $10,000 on legal and 
administrative costs in the review of Basalt Alternative Medicine 
(BAM), which is the only dispensary currently licensed in Basalt. BAM 
hopes to open this month in the midvalley.

The town has no way to recoup those expenses, unlike with the review 
of land-use applications. When the town checks a developer's 
application, various fees allow the government to recover some of 
those expenses.

When asked to cite examples of how the state needs to better define 
its regulations, Kane said numerous clarifications are needed on 
rules for grow operations. In addition, more guidance is needed on 
background checks for employees of dispensaries.

It became obvious to us that these rules aren't cooked yet," Kane said.

Basalt's Town Council generally takes a liberal approach to issues 
so, in that sense, the moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries 
might have been a surprise. Councilman Pete McBride said he supported 
the moratorium because he agreed with staff that clarity is needed 
from the state.

I'm not against the current situation with medical marijuana, but it 
is very confusing, and small towns like Basalt that are trying to be 
proactive feel like they're being guinea pigs for the state," McBride 
said. "If the state makes it clear, I don't see a problem lifting the 
moratorium."

Councilwoman Jacque Whitsitt departed the council meeting before the 
vote on the moratorium because of illness, but she said she told Kane 
she supported it. She told The Aspen Times a few days after the 
meeting that the state government has done a good job over the years 
defining what an applicant must do to earn a liquor license, and 
defining how they can lose it. She wants similar clarity with medical 
marijuana licenses.

For me personally, I don't care if it's completely legalized but I 
want the regulations in place and the communities to get the revenues 
from it," Whitsitt said.

Councilwoman Anne Freedman, like Whitsitt, an activist on many 
liberal causes, said the uncertainty of federal laws as well as state 
regulations convinced her the moratorium was necessary.

It's a very difficult topic because the law is so unsettled," Freedman said.

Municipalities and counties in Colorado have the ability to write 
some of their own rules on dispensaries, including outright bans. 
Basalt created strict zoning in 2009 that allows medical marijuana 
dispensaries only in buildings that qualify as medical centers. That 
limits it to somewhere between two and four sites in Basalt.

Kane said the council felt the zoning reflected the state intention - 
that dispensaries were created to serve a medical need.

Do we want them downtown? No," he said. "Do we think they have a role 
in the community? Yeah."

The purpose of the zoning and the moratorium was not to create a 
potential monopoly for BAM, although that could be a result. As of 
now, that isn't happening because BAM isn't open. In addition, the 
town staff's review of the BAM application was often contentious. The 
town initially rejected the application, then proposed a compromise 
to allow BAM to transfer the license from a previous dispensary since 
one owner remained the same.

McBride said he is concerned that the town's rules may have 
unintentionally created a monopoly for the only dispensary in town 
and given leverage to landlords in the few commercial spaces where 
dispensaries can open.

In our best intentions, we created a small snafu but I think we can 
solve it," McBride said.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart