Pubdate: Wed, 06 Apr 2016
Source: Colorado Springs Independent (CO)
Column: Cannabiz
Copyright: 2016 Colorado Springs Independent
Contact:  http://www.csindy.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1536
Author: Nat Stein

CANNABIS CLUBS MOBILIZE, TAKE ON ANTI-MARIJUANA LEGISLATION

Colorado Springs residents who voted for Amendment 64 were 
understandably disappointed to watch City Council opt out (as was 
permitted) a year later. That disappointment morphed into indignation 
as city officials repeatedly and methodically tightened marijuana 
regulations up to the brink of what's permitted by state 
constitutional amendments.

Now that indignation is manifesting as activism aimed at aligning 
city policy more closely with what most citizens want.

"I'll be honest, a month ago if you had asked me who the mayor was, I 
didn't know," says Anthony Robinson, aka Zip Floppyjoints, owner of 
the My Club 420 cannabis club. "But I've woken up."

Robinson and his club are part of a coalition of eight cannabis clubs 
across the city wanting a referendum on Council's recent vote to ban 
such clubs.

That decision came down on March 23, when Council voted to prohibit 
the opening of any new cannabis clubs, mandate licensure for all 
clubs that operated prior to the moratorium (subject to all sorts of 
new rules) and force those clubs to close doors by 2024 at the 
latest. Before those ordinances officially passed, strategies for 
undoing them already had begun forming. Now, two are in action.

One is a lawsuit filed in district court by Denver-based attorney 
Robert Corry on behalf of nine establishments and 14 individuals. The 
complaint asks for the ordinance to be struck down for violating the 
plaintiffs' right of association, freedom of speech and due process 
under the U.S. Constitution, as well as their right to life, liberty 
and the pursuit of happiness, religious freedom and the right to 
medical and personal use of marijuana under the Colorado Constitution.

The other mounting challenge is a petition filed with the city 
clerk's office this week by the People's Social Alliance (PSA), 
consisting of My Club 420, The Dab Lounge, One Love Club, Canna 
Canyon, The Lazy Lion, Springs Dreams, The Pothole and Studio A64.

City Clerk Sarah Johnson says that per City Charter guidelines, the 
group must gather 14,649 valid signatures to force a referendum, 
which basically asks Council to consider repealing the ban it already 
passed. If Council declines, voters would get the opportunity to 
repeal the ban in a special election within 90 days.

In pursuit of those signatures, the PSA will focus on canvassing the 
pockets of the city that voted most heavily in favor of Amendment 64, 
according to Robinson. "We're expecting 200 volunteers by the end of 
the week," he told the Independent. "And most of them are vets. We're 
going to be everywhere. We're going to get it done."

The so-called "ban" on cannabis clubs really consists of three 
ordinances: one that prohibits the establishment of new clubs and 
requires existing clubs to shut down by 2024; one that creates a 
marijuana consumption club license those grandfathered clubs must 
obtain; and one that establishes a fee structure for the new license. 
In other words, the PSA has to turn in three separate petitions with 
14,649 valid signatures each to force a referendum on the whole shebang.

The deadline is 5 p.m. April 21, and the ordinances won't take effect 
until a resolution is reached.

City Clerk Johnson says an unscheduled special election isn't in this 
year's budget. "It would cost around $300,000, and we don't have that 
in the election account," she told the Independent. "The city would 
have to come up with it somehow."

Robinson sees this petition process as the first step toward getting 
the local government to reflect the will of the people.

"The fact is, this is how the Republican party started, this is how 
the Democratic party started," Robinson mused. "Political movements 
start in bars, and we're getting pretty galvanized in here."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom