Pubdate: Wed, 21 Aug 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: John Ingold

POT-TRACKING SYSTEM TO DEBUT IN OCTOBER

Colorado regulators expect to have an online inventory-tracking system
for marijuana shops up and running in October, providing, for the
first time, an important tool for oversight of the state's
recreational and medical marijuana industries.

State Department of Revenue enforcement official Ron Kammerzell said
the state will begin training employees of current medical-marijuana
businesses on the new system in September and October. Kammerzell said
the state will need to train between 2,000 and 3,000 people and will
do so at locations across the state.

Kammerzell said existing medical-marijuana businesses will be
transitioned onto the system - which will track marijuana plants
through special radio-frequency tags - by December. The forthcoming
recreational marijuana stores, which won't open until January, will
have to create accounts on the system before they will receive a
license to operate, Kammerzell said.

That last requirement is among dozens being considered this week in
first-of-their kind formal rule-making hearings on rules for a
recreational marijuana industry. On the first day of hearings on
Tuesday, regulators took public comment on rules governing licensing
fees, potency testing and the tracking system.

Written comments on the proposed rules will be accepted until Aug.
27.

Jessica LeRoux, who owns Twirling Hippy Confections, a maker of
marijuana-infused pastries, said Tuesday she's worried business owners
won't have enough time to get familiar with the tracking system before
they're expected to comply with it.

"We've not seen any preview of the system," she said. "You will have
to ask owners to go through training on an entire system that you guys
aren't even familiar with yet."

Previous efforts at creating a comprehensive marijuana-tracking system
for the stores - which can help regulators figure out if marijuana is
being diverted into the black market - went unfulfilled. And, though
officials have said the new system won't quite provide seed-to-sale
tracking, Kammerzell said it will be a critical part of regulatory
efforts.

Overall, state officials plan to draw on lessons from their sometimes
rocky regulation of medical-marijuana dispensaries to create clear and
enforceable rules for recreational marijuana stores.

"We've got a lot of expertise in this state because of medical
marijuana," Kammerzell said. "It's not just theoretical expertise.
It's practical expertise."
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MAP posted-by: Matt