Pubdate: Sun, 07 Jul 2013
Source: Telluride Daily Planet (CO)
Copyright: 2013 Telluride Daily Planet
Contact: http://www.telluridenews.com/forms/letters/
Website: http://www.telluridenews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3881
Author: Katie Klingsporn

TOWN BEGINS MULLING RETAIL MARIJUANA RULES

Telluride plans to regulate retail stores in town

Even though the passage of Amendment 64 has made it legal for adults
21 and older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana in Colorado, retail
pot shops have yet to open their doors.

That's because the state has been drafting the rules for exactly how
recreational pot should be grown and sold. This week, the process hit
a milestone when the Department of Revenue released those rules, which
address everything from potency labels to expiration dates and who can
work in the marijuana business.

Retail sales still won't begin until January, but the Town of
Telluride has begun to wade into the process of creating its own
licensing regulations for retail shops. The town council recently gave
direction for the framework for local marijuana rules, and Town
Attorney Kevin Geiger will be drafting an ordinance that will be
reviewed in the next couple months.

"It's a work in progress," Geiger said, adding that the town has a
good base to start from. "We have some pretty good regulations right
now for medical marijuana."

The Telluride Town Council has agreed that it won't prohibit retail
marijuana facilities (as some municipalities have) and will establish
its own town-specific licensing structure. Council members indicated
they favor setting up a framework so that the current dispensaries can
transition into retail stores if they choose.

The council also agreed to keep in place regulations that restrict
cultivation to commercial zones, but were unsure about allowing
medical marijuana dispensaries and retail marijuana stores to be in
the same location. The council is in favor of keeping its 500-foot
proximity restriction related to schools, but is not interested in
implementing space restrictions between locations.

The town may be tightening signage restrictions for retail marijuana
establishments, and is going to consider language that would prohibit
the use of marijuana on town property, including Town Park.

The town needs to decide what its licensing scheme is going to be by
Oct. 1. Council members expressed a hope that dispensary owners will
get involved with the discussion as it moves forward.

Adam Raleigh, who owns Telluride Bud Company, said he intends to do
just that. Raleigh said he and other dispensary owners have been
playing a waiting game while the state hammers out its rules, and they
are looking forward to some clarity.

"I can't wait," he said. "It's what we've been working
for."

Customers, too, are keen to learn the new rules; Raleigh said locals
and visitors have been streaming in his shop with questions about what
the rules are and if they can purchase marijuana.

During a recent interview at the Bud Company, five people stopped in
with questions about buying marijuana. Raleigh said that's nothing; he
turned away 386 people just during the Telluride Bluegrass Festival -
people he considered potential customers. He's even been getting
pre-destination phone calls.

He thinks retail marijuana sales will have a positive effect on
town.

"The tax revenue is going to be huge," he said, adding that he thinks
it will draw tourists and take some enforcement pressure off of local
police officers.

Raleigh, who hopes he can continue to take care of his medical
customers and also transition into a recreational facility, said he is
ready for the next step.

"I just wish it was implemented sooner at the state level," Raleigh
said.

Under the state rules released on July 1, Colorado residents can buy
up to an ounce of marijuana at a time while out-of-state residents can
buy up to a quarter-ounce. The rules also prohibit onsite consumption
in retail shop establishments and cultivation sites.

Geiger noted that while the town will be doing its diligence to craft
its rules, there's always a great unknown: the federal government.
Marijuana remains classified as a schedule 1 drug in the Controlled
Substances Act, and the federal government has yet to take a position
on Amendment 64 and a similar measure that passed in Washington state.

Even if the Obama administration opts not to act on the issue, Geiger
said, "there's no guarantee to say that another administration
wouldn't reserve it."

But judging by the local voting numbers, citizens are ready: San
Miguel County had the highest percentage of voters in favor of
Amendment 64 in the state, with 79 percent supporting it.
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MAP posted-by: Matt