[420 Girl]

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - Neighbors are angry over a new medical marijuana dispensary coming in near Brookwood and Academy in the old Mission Inn Restaurant. They're petitioning the city council to keep the business out of their backyards. It's a story we've been tracking, and now the lawyer for the dispensary wants to address residents' safety concerns.

"The concerns about crime just aren't realistic," says Cliff Black, attorney for the owners of the shop, DMC Partners.

He points to reports from both the Los Angles and Denver police departments that both show medical marijuana shops aren't necessarily a magnet for crime. The reports show that robberies are much more likely at happen at banks.

Black says the dispensary will be non-descript.

"The signage won't mention marijuana or cannabis," says Black. "The neighbors wouldn't even know what the business was unless they came and asked."

Residents in the York and Brookwood neighborhoods don't like that the shop will be so close. Brookwood starts about a hundred feet from the dispensary.

"I feel like our neighborhood is going to turn into a ghetto if the city doesn't step in," says Brookwood resident Amy Daniels.

Some are especially concerned because a nearby shop called "Freaky's" sells pipes, rolling papers and drug paraphernalia. There are also rumors the marijuana dispensary will offer massages.

"A toke a stroke and walk across the street for a smoke," says Ann Devere, who also lives in Brookwood.

Cliff Black says the massage rumors are false, and he also points out its illegal to smoke in or outside of the shop. He says the owners of the shop haven't decided on a move-in date, and that it's still possible they could decide to go elsewhere.


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...-concerns.html