Pubdate: Thu, 30 Aug 2012
Source: Cortez Journal, The (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Cortez Journal
Contact:  http://www.cortezjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3602
Author: Michael Maresh

NO LIMIT FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA FACILITIES

The Cortez City Council in late July adopted an ordinance that 
removes the cap limit for the number of medical marijuana facilities.

While the council did not set the number of medical marijuana 
facilities to be allowed in the city, in a way it did.

City Manager Shane Hale said while there is no cap, the required 
zoning, distance and rules would make it almost impossible for the 
number of facilities to exceed six.

Currently, the city has three medical marijuana facilities and a 
fourth one, True Earth Medicine, has been given until Oct. 22 to find 
a new facility because the current location is too close to a preschool.

On top of that, Hale said a Durango operator has approached the city 
about opening another medical marijuana center in Cortez, though 
these discussions are in the preliminary stages.

Some of the requirements medical marijuana facilities must meet 
include not being within 1,500 feet of a school, a treatment 
facility, a preschool or another medical marijuana facility.

"It's possible we could get six, but we probably will not get six due 
to the zoning requirements," Hale said.

He added, the council decided to remove the cap in order to be more 
business friendly.

Hale said the council discussed and debated this issue and decided 
not to place an arbitrary number on these facilities.

The city manager also said opening up these businesses is not an easy 
process since applicants need to find a building for sale or rent 
that works for them while meeting the city's requirements, and 
another obstacle is to convince a landlord, when renting, to let them 
open a medical marijuana facility at their place.

"There are a lot of natural hurdles to this business," Hale said.

On July 10 the council by a 6-1 vote, approved a first reading 
regarding the removal of the cap on the number of medical marijuana 
centers, while setting a public hearing on the matter for July 24 
when the ordinance was officially adopted.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom