Pubdate: Fri, 09 Sep 2011
Source: Cortez Journal, The (CO)
Copyright: 2011 The Cortez Journal
Contact:  http://www.cortezjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3602
Author: Reid Wright

MARIJUANA GROUP

Cortez Medical Marijuana Ad Hoc Committee starts

After more than an hour of deliberations Tuesday, the new Cortez 
Medical Marijuana Ad Hoc Committee made a vote -- deciding where to start.

The committee is charged with the daunting task of determining the 
best medical marijuana policy for Cortez to recommend to the city 
council. With federal and state policies toward medical marijuana 
continually shifting underfoot, the committee must determine what, if 
any, municipal regulations to throw into the mix.

Although other Colorado municipalities have taken their own 
approaches to the issue, it is plausible the committee could enter 
uncharted waters for public policy.

In their first meeting, held Tuesday at City Hall, committee members 
established a leadership and procedural structure, electing Mayor 
Pro-Tem Matt Keefauver to chair the board and have Beacon Wellness 
Group center Owner Paul Coffey serve as vice-chair.

The committee determined to limit their scope by not debating the 
medical benefits of medical marijuana or "parenting" issues 
surrounding the drug, but focusing instead on the limited abilities 
of the city government to regulate, or not regulate, the industry. 
Although the city could ban dispensaries in Cortez, individual 
caregivers could continue to operate in the city under the blessing 
of state law.

"A lot of this committee isn't going to have any input at all," 
committee member Garth Greenlee said, admitting he is against medical 
marijuana. "I want to be working on the real stuff."

As the end of the two-hour meeting approached, the committee 
ultimately decided to start small at the next meeting by exploring 
land-use issues regarding the location and operation of medical 
marijuana centers as well as the possibility of a licensing system.

The more challenging issue is individual medical marijuana 
caregivers, which went largely unregulated in the state until House 
Bill 1043 was signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper in June. The 
bill requires caregivers to register cultivation sites and patients 
with the state and adhere to all zoning and building codes -- opening 
the door for potential municipal regulations.

Committee member Jeb Boyd said he fears that if caregivers are 
overregulated, they will simply go black market.

Travis Pollock, committee member and owner of Natures Own Wellness 
Center, said he believes the committee has three options when it 
comes to medical marijuana centers: allow the city council to decide 
their fate, put the issue on the ballot for voters or leave them 
alone entirely.

Keefauver said as a city councilor, he had previously been concerned 
that if centers were banned, more caregivers would emerge. Caregivers 
are more difficult to regulate than centers, which can be inspected 
by police or state regulators at any time.

Medical marijuana remains illegal under federal law. However, U.S. 
Attorney General John Walsh's bark has thus far proven worse than his 
bite when it comes to enforcement of the federal law in Colorado. In 
2010, federal prosecutors pursued only four criminal marijuana cases 
in the state, The Denver Post reported in May.

Meanwhile, the state is establishing it's own regulatory agency: the 
Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division under the Department of Revenue.

Moratoriums are in place on the state and city level, prohibiting 
additional medical marijuana centers from opening. Five centers 
already operate in Cortez. City land use code regulations are in 
place limiting signage and locations of centers.

The city council appointed three industry representatives to the 
committee in August: center owners Coffey and Pollock, as well as 
Boyd, a caregiver and medical marijuana patient.

Cortez residents-at-large selected for the committee are Greenlee, 
Karen Sheek, Patricia Grant and Fred Blackburn.

City Councilors Keefauver, Tom Butler and Bob Archibeque also serve 
on the committee.

The committee is scheduled to meet again Oct. 4. The committee is set 
to be dissolved after making its recommendations to the council.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart