[420 Girl]

The Ophir general assembly will consider Tuesday whether it wants to explore the possibility of a town-run medical marijuana dispensary as a means to create some new revenue.

Town Manager Jason Wells said the discussion is very preliminary. The issue was brought up at a previous meeting by a citizen who requested that it be put on the agenda, he said, and discussion will stick to just looking into the feasibility of a municipal dispensary.

“One woman thought it might be a creative means as a revenue stream,” Wells said.

Like Telluride, Ophir has felt the pinch of dwindling real estate transfer taxes over the past year and a half — and since there are no businesses in town, it does not collect sales tax.

With more people moving in, the small town is seeing more demand for services, and it’s preparing for a $500,000 water project. In an effort to create revenue, the town has already has also put a 8 mil property tax hike on the November ballot.

If Ophir did open its own dispensary, it could become the first municipality in the state to sell medical marijuana.

At a Telluride Town Council meeting last week, council member Thom Carnevale suggested that Telluride look into the option. Carnevale said the town could generate much-needed revenues, as well as serve as a model for how a dispensary could be run in town.

In November of 2000, Colorado voters approved Amendment 20, authorizing patients with certain medical ailments to enroll in a state registry and use medical marijuana.

But it wasn’t until this year — after the state eliminated a limit on the number of patients dispensaries could have — that dispensaries began to pop up all over Colorado.


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