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CARBONDALE, Colorado — A diverse group of concerned citizens, property owners, medical practitioners and medicinal marijuana dispensary owners will meet over the next three months to determine what, if any, regulations should be imposed on the burgeoning new medical marijuana business.
The Carbondale Board of Trustees on Tuesday appointed a 14-member Medical Marijuana Facilities Advisory Group to study the issue and come up with recommendations related to the location of dispensaries and grow operations within town limits.
“The purpose of the group is to respond to a variety of citizen comments regarding facility locations, including dispensary/retail facilities and growing facilities,” according to a memo from Carbondale Town Manager Tom Baker explaining the group's mission.
“A range of concerns regarding these facilities has been sent to Town Hall in relation to proximity to schools, location on Main Street [street level versus second level], what zone districts should permit growing, [and] how we should protect residential neighborhoods from improper use of residences,” Baker continued.
The group's mission will be to advise the town board on the various issues related to medical marijuana facilities, mostly as they relate to land use, zoning and location.
The group has been instructed to develop and report back with their recommendations by July 1. Recommendations on any immediate concerns could come before that time, and the group may also be asked to meet with the town's Planning and Zoning Commission before reporting to the town board.
Medicinal use of marijuana was made legal in Colorado with voter passage of Amendment 20 in the 2000 election. Medical marijuana patients who are referred by a doctor and registered with the state are allowed to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana and can grow up to six plants for personal use.
Carbondale is now home to about a half dozen medical marijuana dispensaries located in different zone districts throughout town. Town officials are also mulling over the question of whether additional oversight may be needed beyond what the town's zoning code addresses, such as licensing for caregivers and simply acknowledging dispensaries as a new form of business in zoning code language.
State law also doesn't specify how “caregivers,” the constitutional term for those who dispense marijuana to patients, are to be supplied. That has resulted in larger grow operations to serve multiple patients.
While the state Legislature is wrestling with regulatory controls over the industry, local governments are also attempting to do what they can to deal with the growing medical marijuana business.
The town of Carbondale solicited volunteers to serve on the advisory group. The group includes six caregivers or dispensary owners or co-owners, as well as eight members with various degrees of expertise and general interest in the issue, including one medical doctor, a local school board member, and at least two licensed medical marijuana patients.
jstroud@postindependent.com
The Carbondale Board of Trustees on Tuesday appointed a 14-member Medical Marijuana Facilities Advisory Group to study the issue and come up with recommendations related to the location of dispensaries and grow operations within town limits.
“The purpose of the group is to respond to a variety of citizen comments regarding facility locations, including dispensary/retail facilities and growing facilities,” according to a memo from Carbondale Town Manager Tom Baker explaining the group's mission.
“A range of concerns regarding these facilities has been sent to Town Hall in relation to proximity to schools, location on Main Street [street level versus second level], what zone districts should permit growing, [and] how we should protect residential neighborhoods from improper use of residences,” Baker continued.
The group's mission will be to advise the town board on the various issues related to medical marijuana facilities, mostly as they relate to land use, zoning and location.
The group has been instructed to develop and report back with their recommendations by July 1. Recommendations on any immediate concerns could come before that time, and the group may also be asked to meet with the town's Planning and Zoning Commission before reporting to the town board.
Medicinal use of marijuana was made legal in Colorado with voter passage of Amendment 20 in the 2000 election. Medical marijuana patients who are referred by a doctor and registered with the state are allowed to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana and can grow up to six plants for personal use.
Carbondale is now home to about a half dozen medical marijuana dispensaries located in different zone districts throughout town. Town officials are also mulling over the question of whether additional oversight may be needed beyond what the town's zoning code addresses, such as licensing for caregivers and simply acknowledging dispensaries as a new form of business in zoning code language.
State law also doesn't specify how “caregivers,” the constitutional term for those who dispense marijuana to patients, are to be supplied. That has resulted in larger grow operations to serve multiple patients.
While the state Legislature is wrestling with regulatory controls over the industry, local governments are also attempting to do what they can to deal with the growing medical marijuana business.
The town of Carbondale solicited volunteers to serve on the advisory group. The group includes six caregivers or dispensary owners or co-owners, as well as eight members with various degrees of expertise and general interest in the issue, including one medical doctor, a local school board member, and at least two licensed medical marijuana patients.
jstroud@postindependent.com
