Pubdate: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 Source: Cortez Journal, The (CO) Copyright: 2011 The Cortez Journal Contact: http://www.cortezjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3602 Author: Reid Wright COUNCIL HEARS MEDICAL MARIJUANA CANDIDATES City Continues Work to Form Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee The Cortez City Council interviewed four more candidates for an ad-hoc medical marijuana advisory committee at a workshop meeting Tuesday. Patricia Grant told the council she is always interested in participation in government and hopes to be on the committee to get some answers on the regulation of medical marijuana, which is legal in Colorado. "The camel is getting its nose under the tent," Grant said. "The best way to control it is don't have it." Garth Greenle said he is applying because he hopes to bring balance to the committee. "I'm not against medical marijuana, as it was designed," he said. "For sick people, that it really can help, I don't have a problem with it. But the way that I see it now ... seems to me there's hardly any control." Paul Coffey, owner of the Beacon Wellness Group center, said he wants to offer a fair and informed perspective to the committee on behalf of medical marijuana patients. "I'm not biased towards anything," he said. "I'm very open with the facts, and the facts are not one person in the history of the United States has died from marijuana or medical marijuana, but 23,000 people have died a year from problems with pharmaceutical drugs," he said. Herbal Alternative owner Kirsten Krzysztofiak said she would like to be part of the process for the forming of any potential rules and regulations. "I'm for medical marijuana, but some of the rules and regulations that they've come up with need to be refined," she said. "The rules and regulations that they've come up with - I feel - are unconstitutional." The council will interview more candidates at a special meeting not yet scheduled, and is expected to make final appointments to the committee in the coming weeks. The committee will advise the city council on medical marijuana policy. The group could make a wide range of recommendations - from only allowing existing medical marijuana centers to operate, to a licensing system similar to liquor sales, to an all-out ban on centers in the city limits. The committee is aimed at providing a broad base of information and perspective for the council on the subject. Also in the equation are individual medical marijuana caregivers, which had previously gone unregulated, but under new state legislation may be subject to local oversight. The advisory group is expected to disband after making its recommendations to the council. The committee's proposed makeup comprises three city council members, three participants in the medical marijuana field and four Cortez residents-at-large. Three city council members - Tom Butler, Matt Keefauver and Bob Archibeque - have shown an interest in serving on the committee. City Attorney Mike Green and Cortez Police Department representatives likely will work with the committee on legal issues. Committee meetings probably will be open to the public, but it is not yet known how the committee will accept public feedback. The decision to form a committee happened after a May 24 city council meeting in which Butler made a motion to vote on either allowing or banning medical marijuana centers in the city limits. Keefauver said at the meeting he was not ready to make such a vote and would rather explore varying degrees of regulation. After some discussion, Butler withdrew his motion and the council asked city staff to assemble an advisory group. The council recently passed an ordinance extending a moratorium barring new licenses to medical marijuana centers in the city limits. There are five existing centers in the city that were not directly affected by the moratorium extension. A date for the committee to first meet has not been established. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.