Pubdate: Sun, 31 Mar 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Steve Raabe

Legalized Marijuana

EFFECT ON COLORADO BUSINESS UP IN AIR

Analysts Differ on the Impact Pot Will Have on Relocation
Decisions.

Colorado: a haven for stoners or a budding test bed of marijuana
enterprise? The still-hazy status of legal pot in the state has
analysts sharply divided on how the new law will drive the business sector.

One school says the law could scare off relocating and expanding
businesses because of questions about enforcing workplace drug
policies. Another maintains that legal marijuana is a non issue for
most companies and actually could spur economic growth .

The growth-stimulus side notched a victory with the recent
announcement that a Canadian biotech company will open a Boulder plant
to produce and bottle tea infused with a marijuana compound.

Officials of Abattis Bioceuticals, based in Vancouver, British
Columbia, said Colorado was chosen for the plant largely because of
marijuana's new legal status.

However, evidence of statewide economic impact - positive or negative
- - is scant, so far.

The Colorado Center on Law and Policy has estimated that legal
marijuana sales may total $342 million a year, yield $46 million in
new tax revenue and create hundreds of jobs.

At issue is how much of the economic benefit could be eroded by losses
in overall business development.

Determining which side is right on the broad question of economic
development will still take months as Colorado lawmakers and a pending
court case lay out the path of cannabis commerce.

Also unknown is the impact of "marijuana tourism." Legal marijuana
boosters say it could generate millions of dollars annually in new
visitation. Critics say any gain in tourism would be negated by a
public-relations black eye.

Economic development leader Tom Clark initially cringed when
Colorado's passage of Amendment 64 in November became the butt of
countless jokes from Leno and Letterman and in virtually every other
public forum.

Now, Clark is less concerned about stoner humor and more worried about
corporate uncertainty over the law's impact. An uncertain business
prospect, he says, is quite possibly a lost business prospect.

"Questions about an issue work against you," said Clark, CEO of the
Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. "Site selection is really not
about selection; it's about site elimination."

A prospective relocating company is easily inclined to cross Colorado
off its list, he said, instead of hanging around to discover the full
implications of legal interpretations.

Akey case awaiting a ruling in the Colorado Court of Appeals will
determine to what extent a business can prohibit employees from using
legal marijuana outside ofwork hours.

In that case, an employee of Dish Network sued the company after he
was fired for testing positive for marijuana. The employee was a
registered medical marijuana patient and said he never used the drug
at work.

Employment attorney Curtis Graves notes that Amendment 64 specifically
allows employers to maintain rules prohibiting marijuana use by workers.

But if the state appeals court sides with the Dish employee by saying
that employers can't prohibit legal off-duty activities, the issue
becomes murky.

"Companies are concerned if they're going to end up with a stoned work
force," said Graves, a staff attorney with the Mountain States
Employers Council.

Economic development officials can cite no examples of an existing or
prospective company fleeing Colorado because of marijuana concerns.
Yet plenty of angst exists. "Site selection is such a competitive
industry," said Ryan Schaefer, president of Fort Collins developer and
real-estate brokerage Chrisland Commercial."My concern is that quality
of work force is such a critical data point in site selection that
this has the possibility of costing us jobs."

The tone of feedback from business prospects "has been one of concern
and uncertainty," said Joe Raso, president and CEO of the Colorado
Springs Regional Business Alliance.

"What's the long-term impact on ourworkforce and competitiveness,
nationally and globally?" said Raso. "Any level of uncertainty (by a
prospect) causes what I would call a lack of good decision-making."

Site-selection consultant Dennis Donovan of WDG Consulting in
Bridgewater, N.J., said legal marijuana "will cost Colorado jobs. More
people using pot could diminish the supply of qualified workers. Some
companies are big into drug-free."

Other economic development analysts outside of Colorado say legal
marijuana is not a compelling factor for businesses considering
expansion or relocation.

"I would be really surprised if companies relocate to or from Colorado
based on the new policy," said Harvard economics professor Jeffrey
Miron, who has studied the financial impact of legalizing illicit drugs.

"Too many other factors are crucial to location decisions: tax rates,
labor pool, etc.," he said. "And attitudes toward marijuana are not
that different across lots of states. I doubt there's much stigma or
anything like that."

Stephen Easton, an analyst with the Vancouver, British Columbia-based
free-market think tank Fraser Institute, said economic benefits of
legal marijuana probably will outweigh possible losses.

"I doubt that investors will steer clear of legal marijuana states,"
he said. "Perceived increases in use are not likely to be that great
an increment over present habits."

Plus, Easton said, marijuana legalization is more likely to bring
abuse or dependency issues into the mainstream of employee-help
programs, similar to the way alcohol is treated.

The Colorado legislature is expected to enact legislation this session
that will set rules and regulations on recreational marijuana
taxation, licensing, and retail and cultivation protocols.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D