[420 Girl]

Let's get this straight: Medical marijuana growers want to be up-front and legit by getting government licensure, but they're lobbying to keep secret the locations of their pot-growing operations.

Lawmakers, apparently, have kowtowed to this request, adding an amendment to a medical marijuana bill moving through the legislature that would keep the addresses of grow facilities out of state and local records.

It's a bad amendment, and we hope to see lawmakers backtrack on it. People have a right to know whether there is a grow operation in their neighborhood. It's particularly important to someone who is considering buying property.

Wouldn't you want to know if there is a pot-growing facility nearby that could be raided by federal agents or perhaps be a magnet for illicit activity?

The secrecy measure is only part of the wide-ranging medical marijuana regulation bill that is nearing the finish line.

We have repeatedly stated our objections to the bill, which center on the measure legitimizing the dispensary system — a system that never was envisioned in the medical marijuana constitutional amendment.

The system that operated for nine years without dispensaries is true to the measure voters approved in 2000, and was less given to abuse.

House Bill 1284 essentially puts the blessing of state government on medical marijuana dispensaries by licensing them, regulating who can own them, and collecting fees from them.

It's not a business, we think, the state ought to be in. The federal government could, at any moment, change its relaxed policy on medical marijuana and come after users, growers and distributors.

Although Colorado voters approved medicinal use of marijuana, it remains illegal under federal law.

Having stated our objections to the bill, we are glad to see that it still includes an option for local governments or voters to ban dispensaries in their communities.

Some medical marijuana advocates — and even lawmakers — have made the case that this is unconstitutional.

We think it's a stretch to think that just because medical marijuana advocates have won a couple of court battles on the issue, they're going to persuade the courts that dispensaries are a logical extension of the original constitutional amendment.

Let's keep in mind that dispensaries were never mentioned in the amendment. In fact, a whole different caregiver model was specifically outlined in the measure.

The new secrecy provision only adds insult to injury.

Growers say they want to protect their operations from thievery. That may be, but they'll have to engage in security just like any other business. No one keeps the addresses of banks secret, and surely there is something of value there.

Residents of Colorado shouldn't have to sacrifice their right to know what is going on in their communities because of the pot growers' worries about being robbed.

We know it's late in the game, but we think it would be in the interests of Coloradans for the secrecy provision to be removed from the bill.

If not this year, then it should be addressed in the next legislative session.



News Hawk: Warbux 420 MAGAZINE
Source: denverpost.com
Author: The Denver Post Staff
Contact: Home - The Denver Post
Copyright: 2010 The Denver Post
Website: Pot locations a growing concern - The Denver Post


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