Pubdate: Sun, 28 Feb 2010 Source: Summit Daily News (CO) Copyright: 2010 Summit Daily News Contact: http://apps.summitdaily.com/forms/letter/index.php Website: http://www.summitdaily.com/home.php Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/587 Note: from the Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) KEY DEADLINE PASSES FOR POT DISPENSARIES LICENSES DENVER - The deadline has come for Denver medical marijuana dispensaries to apply for an operating license without an interruption to their businesses, and city officials say the number is lower than expected. But the 235 applications received by Friday are still more than the number of liquor stores in Denver. However, the number of applications submitted is significantly lower than the nearly 500 sales tax licenses issued to Denver dispensaries by the first week of February. The City Council passed an ordinance this year requiring dispensaries to get an operating license. The license application includes a background check, onsite inspection and $5,000 in fees. The operating license is separate from the sales-tax license. Dispensary owners had to submit an application by Friday to continue operating while they waited for their license. Applications are still being accepted but those dispensaries will have to close while the licensing process is pending. The costs may have been too expensive and the requirements too onerous for some dispensaries, said Rob Corry, an attorney who specializes in medical marijuana law. One dispensary owner who did apply for a license said the rules may have spooked some businesses. "It really makes people choose between, 'Do I really want to be legal or do I want to go back underground?"' said Andy Cookston, owner of Cannabis Medical Technology. Other dispensaries may have just misunderstood what was required of them, and what the deadline was, said Jeff Gard, another medical marijuana attorney. Colorado lawmakers are also considering proposals to regulate the new industry. One proposal would convert dispensaries to nonprofit marijuana centers licensed by a state authority. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D