Pubdate: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 Source: Pueblo Chieftain (CO) Copyright: 2013 The Pueblo Chieftain Contact: http://www.chieftain.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1613 Author: Nick Bonham DEPARTMENT OF POT? Licensing and enforcement of recreational marijuana-related businesses could mean growing a new department at Pueblo County. In drafting regulations and planning for the future of legalized pot, commissioners Thursday said licensing fees will fund a licensing officer and enforcement officer, creating a new small county office. To begin with, commissioners see licensing and enforcement as one or two jobs. Either way, that would alleviate the workload for the county law office, which has been handling an increasing number of medical marijuana cases. The new office will be under the authority of county commissioners. "The fees are incredibly important to make this work. It's likely that we won't make enough off sales tax to make this work the first year, but we're striving to be a model, not just for Colorado, but maybe the nation," Commissioner Liane "Buffie" McFadyen said Thursday. Commissioner Sal Pace envisions fees paying off in the first year. Sales tax from medical marijuana has gone up this year, grossing about $4,000 a month, he said. Commissioners also want to implement a fee that would protect small local businesses against larger retail pot businesses that could relocate here next year to marijuana-friendly Pueblo County. The proposal is to implement an annual fee based on the square footage of the retail store. The larger the operation, the more they'd pay. "That may alleviate some of the anxiety for some of the existing medical marijuana industry and give them sure footing to compete before larger operations move into Pueblo County," McFadyen said. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt