Pubdate: Wed, 10 Jul 2013
Source: Durango Herald, The (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Durango Herald
Contact: http://durangoherald.com/write_the_editor/
Website: http://durangoherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/866
Author: Jim Haug

DURANGO LOOKING AT POT MORATORIUM

Temporary Ban on Sales Would Run to June 2014

Over-the-counter sales of recreational marijuana likely won't become 
legal in Durango until June 2014 because a moratorium will be needed 
to work out the many details and ramifications of Amendment 64, 
officials suggested Tuesday during a City Council study session.

The Colorado constitutional amendment, which legalized possession of 
up to an ounce of marijuana as well as the retail sale of pot, got 62 
percent of the vote in La Plata County and about 65 percent of the 
vote within the city of Durango in November.

Because of voter support for legalized pot, City Councilors 
emphasized they were not out to ban the sale of nonmedical pot forever.

"We're just trying to get a plan together," Councilor Sweetie Marbury said.

City Attorney David Smith said state laws on the implementation of 
Amendment 64 are hazy, noting that they "were slapped together" 
during the last days of the legislative session. Smith expects the 
regulations will need to be refined and clarified during the next 
legislative session in spring 2014.

Under current law, businesses can apply as soon as October for a 
state license to sell recreational marijuana in January 2014 at the earliest.

But the state licenses also are conditional on approval of local 
municipalities, which can choose to enact moratoriums to delay the 
opening of pot shops or choose not to allow them.

Nineteen cities in Colorado already have imposed moratoriums on 
retail pot sales. Some also have banned marijuana social clubs, 
according to a memo from Smith.

A local moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses would be in 
addition to Durango's moratorium on new business licenses for medical 
marijuana dispensaries, which is in effect through the end of year.

Officials said they need the marijuana timeout because of the many 
pending issues and policy questions.

For example, Colorado voters in November will be asked to approve a 
15 percent excise tax on nonmedical marijuana and up to a 15 percent 
special sales tax on nonmedical marijuana.

Local municipalities also could impose a special sales tax, which 
City Manager Ron LeBlanc suggested would be a "marijuana-access fee."

The amount of taxes on recreational marijuana likely will determine 
how many retailers get into the business, officials said.

While the tax revenue from marijuana is supposed to go toward school 
construction, some fear that pot sales will return to the black 
market or "the street" if the taxes are too onerous.

Durango also could choose to limit recreational marijuana sales to 
the existing 10 medical marijuana dispensaries in town. Officials 
wondered if some medical marijuana businesses would convert to 
recreational sales only.

If medical marijuana dispensaries did go into the recreational side 
of the business, they would have set up separate entrances, which 
officials predicted would be too much of a hardship.

Smith wondered if the city would need to zone recreational marijuana 
to keep pot shops out of high-visibility areas such as Main Avenue.

So far, Durango has been lucky with its medical marijuana businesses, 
Smith said.

"You don't drive down Main Avenue and think marijuana is rampant in 
Durango," he said.

There are other kinds of business that must be regulated, such as 
grow centers because marijuana grown for recreation must be kept 
separate from pot grown for medical marijuana.

The city also could legalize lounges where people gather to smoke pot.

Another type of business is the testing center. Marbury wondered if 
it was the marijuana equivalent of a "wine-tasting room."

Instead, it is supposed to be a lab where the potency of marijuana 
could be measured for labeling purposes so consumers would know how 
strong their marijuana is, much like a wine label that says 12 percent alcohol.

The marijuana label would indicate just "how good are these 
brownies?" Councilor Dean Brookie joked.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom