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Carbondale trustees put marijuana regulations in their pipes, don’t inhale

John Colson
Post Independent staff

CARBONDALE — As the town edges closer to the Oct. 1 deadline when local recreational marijuana regulations are supposed to be in place, the Board of Trustees have scheduled a special work session meant mainly to work on those regulations.

Because it is a work session, meaning no formal notice was issued about the meeting, the trustees cannot make any formal decisions at the work session tonight about a proposed 15-page ordinance outlining the town’s regulation of a planned retail marijuana industry.

But they can sure talk about it.



This will be the fifth meeting at which the trustees have grappled with the proposed regulations, which are required by the passage last year of Amendment 64 to the Colorado Constitution legalizing the use, cultivation and sale of marijuana by those older than 21.

The packet of information prepared for the trustees for tonight’s meeting includes a summary of the state’s regulations for the industry, which were announced on Sept. 9, as well as maps showing the different proposed “zones” for pot shops.



The packet is available on the town’s website (www.carbondalegov.org) under the Popular Pages, Board of Trustees Meeting Packet button.

The state regulations are to be enforced by the Marijuana Enforcement Division of the Colorado Department of Revenue, as opposed to the state health department’s assignment to oversee the medical marijuana industry that has been operating in the state for 13 years.

At present, the town’s proposed “local licensing ordinance” provides that medical marijuana dispensaries interested in converting to, or adding on, a retail marijuana business can apply for the town’s approval between Jan. 1 and July 1.

All others interested in applying for permission to run recreational pot shops in Carbondale can do so after July 1, under the proposed ordinance.

But the proposed ordinance also calls for a cap of five marijuana stores in town, which is meant to limit the industry’s overall impact in the town.

The ordinance also carries provisions related to the allowable distance between a pot shop and a school or day care facility; where manufacturing facilities making edible pot products can be located; where testing facilities, required under Amendment 64 to regulate the quality of the pot being sold, can be located, and where cultivation can take place.

The trustees are faced with numerous other discussion points on the subject, including a need to enact an emergency ordinance to put the licensing provisions into effect in time for the state-imposed deadline.

In addition to the retail marijuana discussion, the trustees will talk about special events, including such topics as permissible sound levels, the use of a portable stage at the Fourth Street Plaza, and a summary of the 2013 Carbondale Mountain Fair.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at Town Hall, 511 Colorado Ave., and is open to the public.

jcolson@postindependent.com


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