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Letter: ‘My voice counts’ on pot stores

Mary Noone
Glenwood Springs

As an “adult inhabitant” of downtown Glenwood Springs, I would like to comment on the recent editorial in the PI about the moratorium and the subsequent ruling in favor of slowing down the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries.

First of all, I have had a medical marijuana license for seven years to help me successfully deal with the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. There is no doubt in my mind that marijuana works and I voted in favor of Amendment 64 to legalize it for recreational use. I also live in downtown Glenwood Springs, in close proximity to one of the recreational outlets at the corner of 11th and Grand Avenue. They are good neighbors and honestly work to lessen the impact of a popular retail business that operates in a quiet, family neighborhood environment.

My issue comes from the industry wanting more. With two dispensaries seeking permission to operate within 350 feet of an existing dispensary, please refer to the Glenwood Springs Application Code/Local Licensing Authority Title 050.090.050. That section of the current regulations clearly states:



“The Local Licensing Authority shall consider whether the application meets the requirements of the CRMC and City Code, the facts and evidence adduced as a result of its investigation, as well as any other facts, the reasonable requirements of the neighborhood for the class of license for which application has been made, the desires of the adult inhabitants and any other pertinent matters affecting the qualifications of the applicant for the conduct of the type of establishment proposed.”

As a citizen of GWS it is within my rights to question the wisdom of flooding the downtown with marijuana-related businesses. The chamber of commerce is attempting to further the image of GWS as a family destination resort. Is a Glenwood Springs that opens the floodgates to an unlimited number of marijuana-related industries really what we want?



Citizen activism is essential to a democracy. I take issue with the PI’s stance that allowing the opinion of adult inhabitants “is a dangerous precedent and a bad way to run a town.” I applaud the City Council tackling this thorny issue. Legal marijuana and how to manage it is a new frontier for small communities in Colorado. We need to consider those who live downtown and the future of the downtown neighborhoods they support.

This is not a “popularity contest.” Rather, an opportunity to establish guidelines for a new industry based on input from those in the community. My voice counts.


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