[420 Girl]

Denver’s City Council spent considerable time and energy in January debating regulations for Medical Marijuana dispensaries located within the city limits.

The result of that debate is an ordinance that will go into effect this Monday, March 1st, 2010. The ordinance lays out specific guidelines for the legal distribution of marijuana to patients.

Most responsible dispensary owners will find themselves predominantly in compliance with the new regulations, which were designed to add legitimacy to a fledgling industry.

The most noteworthy stipulation of the ordinance requires Medical Marijuana patients to take their meds off-premises for use. The pot café atmosphere that has defined a number of Denver dispensaries will end with this requirement. Buds must be smoked elsewhere, and edible doses in the form of baked goods must be ingested off of dispensary grounds.

Another much-discussed element of the City Council’s ordinance relates to the physical location of the dispensary.

In a nod to pending legislation at the State Capitol, dispensaries cannot reside within 1,000 feet of a school, daycare establishment, or residentially zoned area. And to limit the clustering of Medical Marijuana dispensaries in areas like South Broadway’s “Broadsterdam” district, no two dispensaries can exist within 1,000 feet of each other. While initial reports indicated that the limit would be set at 500 feet, many members of the Council refused to move forward without a higher limit.

See a complete summary of the Denver City Council’s Ordinance, including the more than $5,000 in fees associated with the application and licensing process.

The City Council has stated that their ordinance was made necessary by a lack of clear direction on dispensaries within Amendment 20 to the Colorado Constitution. That Amendment, passed in 2000, made legal the sale of Medical Marijuana to patients with debilitating conditions, but neglected to outline a lawful method for distribution. The Denver Council’s ordinance specifically mentions a lack of regulation at the state level, even as Medical Marijuana regulatory legislation slowly winds its way through the Colorado House & Senate.

Citing specifically from Denver City Council Ordinance 39, “Amendment 20 does not, however, contain any provision for the lawful sale or distribution of marijuana to patients and, to date, the State of Colorado has failed to adopt laws or regulations to clearly explain how and whether marijuana may be lawfully sold or otherwise distributed to patients.”

Ordinance #39 was adopted unanimously by the Denver City Council on January 11th, 2010.

This outline for dealing with Medical Marijuana dispensaries foreshadows further regulations and fees in the form of legislation at a state level. The state legislation will likely pass this spring, and then take effect later this year.



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