Pubdate: Sat, 25 Feb 2012
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Monte Whaley, The Denver Post

BUSINESS AT HERBS MEDICINALS POT SHOP HEATS UP IN BERTHOUD 

BERTHOUD - Michele Ballinger runs her business so it will fit in with 
the other tiny shops and quaint storefronts that line this little 
town's main drag.

During the holidays, she and her husband Kevin even put a Nativity
scene in front of their enterprise, Herbs Medicinals, a medical
marijuana dispensary. "We heard from a lot of churches who were very
happy with our display," said Michele, a Berthoud native.

"We want to be respectful and just part of the town," she said.
"Because the town had been very good to us."

But because of moves against medical marijuana in neighboring cities,
Herbs is suddenly attracting a lot more attention from those outside
of this community of 5,200 people.

That's because since medical pot dispensaries have been banned in Loveland,
Fort Collins and Longmont, Herbs is one of the few remaining in
northern Colorado.

There are two dispensaries in unincorporated Larimer County and two in
Garden City, just south of Greeley.

"We've gotten a lot more phone calls, a lot more people interested in
how we can help them," said Michele, who was a hairdresser before she
and her husband opened Herbs in 2009.

Folks at the city hall have also noticed a change in the medical
marijuana climate.

"We're the only community in Larimer County that now allows
dispensaries," Town Administrator Michael Hart said, "so you can
imagine we've had a few inquiries."

To help respond in part to Berthoud's new status, the town is piecing
together a medical marijuana ordinance that will be heard in March.
Officials hope it will address state and federal requirements for
dispensaries and medical marijuana caregivers as well as local concerns.

"We're just trying to be very, very careful," Hart
said.

Already, any dispensary that wants to set up shop in Berthoud will be
limited to about a block-long area zoned for industrial use. New rules
forbid a dispensary from being within 1,000 feet of a school.

That means maybe one additional dispensary might be shoehorned into
the town, said Greg Bell, a Fort Collins attorney helping to craft the
ordinance.

"It's questionable if you could have more than one," Bell
said.

The ordinance will also address the issue of caregivers, who can grow
a certain amount of medical marijuana plants in their homes to provide
to patients.

Town officials, said Bell, want to have an idea of where grow
operations are and how much is being produced.

But they don't seem interested in kicking out medical marijuana
altogether. "There doesn't appear to be any move to regulate them out
of business," Bell said.

Herbs Medicinals has already gained 40 more primary patients because
of the Loveland and Fort Collins closures. All 130 current patients
now walk into a former bank building that still has a security system
that effectively locks down Herbs at night.

Patients also can see a massage therapist and are greeted by Idica, a
sweet-natured boxer mix who informally doubles as a therapy dog.

"We really are a mom-and-pop pot shop," Kevin said.

But the Ballingers worry that any new dispensary that opens up won't
be as respectful of local attitudes, which tend to be fairly
conservative.

"My worry is someone will come in and cause problems," Michele said.
"They have to be able to fit in here and not be disrespectful."

"We like it here," she said, "and we want to stay here and help our
patients.
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MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.