MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES MORATORIUM
Consideration of an emergency ordinance of the Council of the City of Loveland imposing a moratorium on the acceptance of applications for the issuance of licenses, permits and other approvals related to persons and legal entities establishing medical marijuana dispensaries in the City.
Loveland City Council Tuesday, November 17, 2009
City Council Chambers 500 East Third Street at 6:30 p.m.
TO: City Council
FROM: City Manager and Police Department
TITLE:AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LOVELAND IMPOSING A MORATORIUM ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FOR THE ISSUANCE OF LICENSES, PERMITS AND OTHER APPROVALS RELATED TO PERSONS AND LEGAL ENTITIES ESTABLISHING MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES IN THE CITY
DESCRIPTION:
This is a legislative action to enact an eight-month moratorium on the establishment and operation of new medical marijuana dispensaries in Loveland. In 2000, Colorado’s voters passed a constitutional amendment that legalized the medical use of marijuana by patients with certain debilitating conditions and authorized the patient’s or the patient’s designated primary caregiver to possess and grow certain amounts of marijuana. Until recently, this legalized use of marijuana was not a significant issue in Colorado because all uses of marijuana remained a crime under federal law. However, in February of this year, the federal government, under the new administration, announced that it would no longer enforce the federal marijuana laws so long as marijuana was being used in accordance with state law. As a result, there has been an explosion in the number of patients and primary caregivers in Colorado, including the opening of businesses known as “medical marijuana dispensaries.” The City currently has at least fourteen (14) medical marijuana dispensaries (“MMDs”) that have received sales tax licenses to do business in Loveland. City Staff believes that the City needs time to consider how to deal with these existing MMDs and with any future MMDs and their collateral effects. Therefore, for this reason, and because the effects of MMDs and the law related to them is rapidly evolving, City staff is recommending that City Council adopt an emergency ordinance to impose an eightmonth moratorium on the establishment of new MMDs in Loveland. During this moratorium, City staff will work on proposed Code amendments to bring back to City Council for its consideration relating to the regulation of MMDs.
BUDGET IMPACT:
Yes No
SUMMARY:
The recent proliferation of MMDs in Colorado has raised a number of policy and legal issues for municipalities around Colorado, many of which do not have provisions in their codes to deal with the effects of MMDs opening in their communities. Loveland is in a similar position as it also does not have provisions in its Code to address these policy and legal issues. For a detailed description and discussion of the policy and legal issues being raised by MMDs and of the possible regulatory alternatives for the City to consider, attached is a Memorandum dated November 10, 2009, from Assistant City Attorney Moses Garcia to the Mayor and City Council. The Loveland Police Department has serious concerns about the secondary effects of MMDs. Staff has held a number of internal meetings to discuss this issue and, on November 5, 2009, the City Manager, City Attorney, Chief of Police and Development Services Director met with their counterparts from Larimer County and the City of Fort Collins to discuss a coordinated approach to MMDs. Larimer County and Fort Collins are each currently considering a moratorium. Other nearby communities, such as Greeley and Timnath, have already adopted moratoriums. Therefore, if Larimer County and Fort Collins adopt their moratoriums and Loveland does not, this could have the effect of moving more medical marijuana dispensaries to Loveland. To avoid this happening and to give City staff time to study the issues and to propose Code amendments to Council, if needed, City staff recommends that the City Council impose an eight-month moratorium on the establishment of new MMDs in the City by means of an emergency ordinance. This moratorium will give staff an opportunity to develop proposed Code amendments to deal with these issues and to harmonize any such amendments with the State laws and regulations and court rulings that are expected to occur in the near future with respect to MMDs.
This moratorium would maintain the status quo with respect to those MMDs that have already been established in Loveland, and would allow them to continue to operate unless, under current law, they are illegal.
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
1. Memorandum dated November 10, 2009 from Assistant City Attorney Moses Garcia through City Attorney John Duval to Mayor and City Council titled “Medical Marijuana Dispensaries and Possible Alternative City Responses”
2. Emergency Ordinance
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION:
That City Council adopt the Emergency Ordinance.
REVIEWED BY CITY MANAGER:
Comments
Hurry we must act now to save the Fort Collins population! Apparently- based on the medical marijuana guys logic they have:
"The city has issued 26 sales tax licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries, or MMDs, since October 2008, including nine this month. Recently, inquiries about getting licenses for dispensaries have been averaging about 10 a week, Atteberry said"
So with a trend of 500 dispensaries a year and adding this fact:
"With an estimated 2008 population of 136,509, it is the fifth most populous city in Colorado"
One dispensary for every 250 people in FT. Collins or,
"The state health department is receiving an average of 400 requests a day for medical-marijuana cards, spokesman Mark Salley said"
29,000 people are near death or stricken with serious illness every year in Ft. Collins.
DO NOT MOVE THERE IT IS UNHEALTHY JUST TO LIVE IN FT COLLINS.
..BUT IF YOU DO DECIDE TO STAY there should be 600+ pot clinics by next summer to ease your pain.
The marijuana debate is not just about medicine. It's time to drive a wedge between the drug dealers and our kids. Licensing, taxing, and regulating the distribution of marijuana, whether for medical or other purposes, is the surest way to put the criminal drug dealers out of business and protect our children from the money-hungry criminal element. It’s time to protect our children and take the marijuana business out of the hands of criminals. License, tax, and regulate the marijuana business. And while we’re at it, let’s implement a personal cultivation permit. Limit the size of the growing area or the number of plants, and put a small user-fee on it to cover administrative costs, something like a fishing license. Maybe high enough that there will be a little something left over for education or fixing the roads.
One possibility:$100 per year for a permit to cultivate a dozen plants.
It's a win-win.
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