Pubdate: Mon, 26 Nov 2012
Source: Steamboat Today, The (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Steamboat Pilot & Today
Contact: http://www.steamboattoday.com/submit/letters/
Website: http://www.steamboattoday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1549
Author: Tom Ross

AMENDMENT 64 COULD CAUSE CARBONDALE COUNCIL TO HIT PAUSE ON NEW 
MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOPS

Carbondale town trustees will consider Tuesday whether to impose a 
moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries while they sort out 
of the implications of a provision in voter-approved Amendment 64 
that would allow existing medical marijuana dispensaries to convert 
their business models to the sale of recreational marijuana.

The Glenwood Springs Post Independent reported Monday that a new 
Carbondale town ordinance creating the moratorium will be on the 
Carbondale Town Council's agenda Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the Steamboat Springs City Council tabled plans 
to enact an emergency moratorium on new marijuana retailers given the 
passage of Amendment 64. City officials acknowledged that such a step 
was premature given the timelines called for in Amendment 64.

Colorado voters on Nov. 6 approved Amendment 64, which makes it legal 
for residents 21 and older to grow, possess and consume marijuana. 
The constitutional amendment also creates a new class of pot 
retailers. The state is responsible for creating the regulatory 
framework for those businesses, and local jurisdictions have the 
option of banning such recreational pot shops from their cities and towns.

The passage of Amendment 64 came a dozen years after Colorado voters 
approved a separate constitutional amendment allowing the 
cultivation, sale and use of marijuana with a doctor's prescription.

Carbondale Town Manager Jay Harrington told the Post Independent's 
John Colson that some medical marijuana dispensaries in Carbondale 
have already shown an interest in making the conversion. Town 
officials are concerned about their ability to process new 
applications for medical marijuana dispensaries while they are 
preoccupied with working through the implications of Amendment 64.

Owners of medical marijuana dispensaries in Routt County have 
expressed concern that the renewed attention at the federal level on 
Colorado's liberalized marijuana laws could jeopardize their existing 
operations.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom