[420 Girl]

The medical marijuana controversy is headed back to Fort Collins City Hall.

The City Council is scheduled to have first reading of an ordinance today spelling out regulations for how marijuana businesses may operate in the city. Second reading of the ordinance is scheduled March 16.

The council hopes to establish regulations on medical marijuana dispensaries, or MMDs, and growing sites by the time a moratorium on issuing licenses for marijuana-related businesses ends March 31.

The regulations, if adopted, are likely to have a significant impact on the marijuana business in the city, said Capt. Jerry Schiager of Fort Collins police.

"I think we've come up with a way for marijuana businesses to be successful and meet the needs of their patients," he said. "And we hope the regulations will help cut back on some of the abuses we've seen.

"The emphasis has been on the patients, not on the MMDs making money."

MMDs could operate only in designated commercial areas; growing operations would be allowed only in industrial areas. A dispensary's retail site would have to be separate from its growing site.

An existing marijuana business would have to apply for a license to operate a dispensary or growing site. The licensing process would include background checks of the person applying for the license as well the site manager.

Proposed regulations include prohibiting MMDs as home occupations. Growing marijuana also would be banned in residential areas except to meet the medical needs of individual patients as allowed under state law.

Under the proposed regulations, holders of home occupancy licenses for an MMD would not be allowed to grow marijuana or keep inventory at their homes.

They could only have business offices for the remaining time on their two-year home occupancy licenses, which would not be renewed.

Patients who grow only for themselves or one other person would not be considered a dispensary.

The home-grow issue is likely to be one of the more controversial elements of the proposed regulations, Schiager said.

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