[420 Girl]

Colorado — The town of Erie’s moratorium on medical marijuana businesses could be extended until the Colorado State Legislature rules on the issue.

Erie Board of Trustees members expressed frustration Tuesday with their inability to act on dispensaries until the state outlines its regulations and designates what authority individual municipalities will have over dispensaries and growing operations within their borders.

“Another six-month moratorium is probably all we can claim without setting up our own rules,” town administrator Mike Acimovic said Tuesday. Erie is midway through its initial six-month moratorium. “We’re hoping the Legislature does something to give the town guidance in this area.”

Because there isn’t an exact timeline for the Legislature to dictate on the issue, municipalities like Erie are forced to weigh their limited options in the interim.

Trustee Paul Ogg questioned the town’s ability to formalize the process.

“Is there a way the town of Erie can declare that medical marijuana can only be dispensed from a licensed pharmacist?” Ogg asked. “Is there some law that we have that relies on some external standard? That’s what I would like to see explored.”

Pharmacists are regulated by the state; the town doesn’t have the power to regulate them. Erie’s legal adviser said the real question is what’s going to come out of the Legislature, because Erie is a statutory town and will essentially be “a creature of that state legislation.”

The possibility of taxing medical marijuana, zoning dispensary locations and restricting patient and dispensary numbers are issues that surfaced Tuesday and may be revisited by the board.

“I want to be aggressive about this, but I want to be aggressive after the state weighs in,” Mayor Andrew Moore said. “It could be next week that they give us clarification, or it could be months from now.”

A special Consortium of Cities meeting March 2 will bring together municipalities to discuss options.

Erie trustees will revisit the issue Feb. 23.

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