Pubdate: Sat, 22 Sep 2012
Source: Aspen Times, The  (CO)
Copyright: 2012 Aspen Times
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/zKpMPhQ7
Website: http://www.aspentimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3784
Author: Janet Urquhart

PITKIN COUNTY GIVES MARIJUANA SHOPS TIME TO OBTAIN LICENSES

ASPEN -- Pitkin County is giving medical marijuana businesses 30 days 
to submit an application for a required local license though the 
operations are technically out of compliance with county regulations 
at the moment.

A letter signed by Jon Peacock, county manager, is being sent to 
businesses of which county officials are aware, informing them of the 
need for a local license and how to get one.

The approach will give operators time to comply before any 
enforcement action is taken, Peacock said.

"Our goal is compliance. This is a new set of rules," he said.

Prompting the action was a letter to the county from the Medical 
Marijuana Enforcement Division of the Colorado Department of Revenue, 
which is processing applications for two operations in unincorporated 
Pitkin County. The applicant for both of them is K.I.N.D. Wellness 
Center, doing business as Stash, according to the state agency.

The state, as it moves through a backlog of applications for state 
licenses, is seeking verification that Stash has been approved for a 
medical marijuana license in the county.

It has not. Nor has any other medical marijuana business operating in 
the unincorporated areas of the county, as no one has yet submitted 
an application, according to county officials. It may be that 
operators are unaware of the need for a county license, Peacock said, 
though several representatives of the local medicinal pot industry 
attended the county commissioner meetings at which the local 
regulations were discussed and adopted.

Though the county is reaching out to Stash and other businesses, 
there may be others in existence that don't receive the communication.

"We don't know about the ones we don't know about," Peacock said. "I 
suspect as word gets out, we'll be hearing from more citizens about 
potential operations and such."

The county has received a citizen complaint about Stash's lack of a 
county license.

Stash's owner, who asked not to be identified, said he intends to 
apply for a county license. "I just wasn't aware that the forms were 
available yet," he said.

County commissioners adopted regulations and licensing procedures for 
medical marijuana businesses, including dispensaries and grow sites, 
in June. According to the rules, the task of issuing licenses rests 
with the county manager.

Businesses in existence before the regulations were adopted had until 
July 1 to apply for a license, but no applicants came forward.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom