[420 Girl]

In Longmont, medical marijuana dispensaries are being treated as pharmacies. Therefore, these businesses must be within areas zoned for pharmacies — commercial, mixed industrial and in the central business district.

Beyond that, what does a city do with a business that deals in a substance that otherwise is illegal? Amendment 20, passed by Colorado voters in 2000, legalized the medical use of marijuana. It did not, however, establish a system to dispense the medical marijuana. As noted by the state’s department of health, the state does not license, list or regulate dispensaries.

This leaves the job to cities, which just now are beginning to confront the reality of dispensaries within their limits.

Those that haven’t should do so, soon.

As of June, Boulder and Larimer counties were fourth and fifth, respectively, in their number of medical marijuana patients, each with more than 850 patients, and together having 20 percent of the state’s total.

In response, medical marijuana outlets are proliferating. Longmont, for instance, has five active licenses, and two dispensaries already are open. Loveland has one dispensary.

Though these business are legal, and no one is questioning the legitimacy of their operations, they do present concerns not seen in other businesses and questions that are yet to be answered. Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett, himself a supporter of the medical marijuana amendment, has acknowledged those questions and concerns.

Marijuana — which otherwise is illegal — is worth a lot of money, making dispensaries particularly attractive targets for robbery.

These dispensaries often are in neighborhoods. Even those in Longmont that meet the zoning requirements are in or near residences, and one is within a couple of blocks of a school.

Where may these dispensaries acquire their product? May a grower have a warehouse in a city?

Some dispensaries already are offering kickbacks and incentives to “licensees,” so who’s to regulate how they conduct their business?

These problems are left for cities to solve. Some already have banned dispensaries altogether. Others, such as Loveland and Longmont, have not.

A business license and adherence to zoning requirements leaves too many concerns unaddressed. Cities around the state must take up the regulation on these businesses, and do so quickly.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...pensaries.html