Pubdate: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 Source: Telluride Daily Planet (CO) Copyright: 2010 Telluride Daily Planet, Womack Publishing Company Contact: http://www.telluridenews.com/forms/letters/ Website: http://www.telluridenews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3881 Author: Kathrine Warren MV EXTENDS DISPENSARY MORATORIUM Waiting for regulations from the state The Mountain Village Town Council has extended its emergency moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries through next summer. "It's not a statement for support or lack of support for medical marijuana," said Mayor Bob Delves. "It's just a cautious step to allow the state to develop a clear set of guidelines and regulations so we know what the state wants to do before we allow it to happen in our community." The vote to extend the moratorium took place on Oct. 21, just weeks before it was set to expire. The extension could run through July 1, 2011 or until town council takes further action once the State of Colorado outlines its regulations for licensing towns and counties. A state task force is currently working on draft rules to recommend local licensing requirements to the Department of Revenue's new Marijuana Division and has until next July 1 to complete them. However, the town's lawyer expects the rules to be complete by the first quarter of next year. "It would be prudent to just wait and see what they do," said David Reed, the town's attorney. Prior to voting on the extension, town council heard public comment from Mike Fitzhugh, a partner and co-owner with the Mericana Corporation, which owns office space in Prospect Plaza near the Meadows. "We've had our office space for sale for two years now and there's not a lot of commercial space selling in Mountain Village," Fitzhugh said. "The only people who've shown any interest are involved in the medical marijuana business." Last year, someone approached his company about renting the space for a dispensary. "We went to the town and within a few days, they passed the moratorium," he said in a follow-up interview. The space has since stood empty and Mericana has struggled to pay its mortgage. Fitzhugh and his partner Ray Bailis were recently approached by someone interested in renting the space to grow and make marijuana-infused products, but the town would not grant a business license prior to last week's meeting. The moratorium extension now includes optional cultivation premises and marijuana-infused product manufacturers. Fitzhugh said he was not surprised that council extended the moratorium. "They just seem to be concerned about the Mountain Village image, although it seems like they should be concerned by what sort of image is projected when there are a lot of empty businesses," he said. Once the state develops its regulations Mountain Village can either adopt them as a local ordinance, adopt its own stricter ordinance or just prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries in the Village all together. "We just want the state to be clarified before we allow or disallow anything," Delves said. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt