Proposed medical marijuana ordinance gets favorable City Council response

A proposal to regulate the burgeoning medical marijuana industry in Colorado Springs received a mostly favorable reception when it was previewed Monday before the City Council.

Monitored alarm systems, security cameras and restricted hours of business at pot dispensaries and grow operations are among the host of conditions included in the proposed ordinance, drafted by a task force that included medical marijuana providers.

Dispensaries and growers would also be required to register with the city and pay annual fees.

Some in the audience criticized a provision in the proposal that would allow dispensaries in residential areas, and several council members said a proposed a 250-foot buffer zone from schools didn’t go far enough.

Despite the criticism, supporters defended the proposal.

“The intent here was to create a starting point from which to move forward,” said Councilman Tom Gallagher, who participated in the task force meetings.

Council members didn’t take action on the proposal Monday and won’t for several weeks. Instead, they asked for input from neighborhood groups, Fourth Judicial District Attorney Dan May, the City Attorney’s Office, the Police Department and other city agencies.

The council will consider the proposal again in March.

Resident Bill Lawson said the city shouldn’t allow dispensaries in neighborhoods. He fears criminals would take the list of registered dispensaries and growers and start going from one to another to steal drugs and money.

“I’m not worried about the Mexican cartel coming in here,” he said. “I’m worried about the local hoodlums. We’re going to have shoot-outs.”

Tanya Garduno, who helped craft the proposed ordinance, said licensed dispensaries and growers would not hesitate to call police if a threat like Lawson described were to develop. However, under the current, unregulated system,  legitimate operations are afraid of calling the police because they don’t want to bring attention to themselves.

“If we do find threats like that, at this point we can’t call the law enforcement to help us because there’s a fear of being shut down,” she said.

Councilman Sean Paige, who organized the task force, said Colorado Springs’ proposal is unique because it involved active participation from the medical marijuana industry.

“If we clamp down on these people, if we make them pariahs, they’re going to stay underground,” Paige said. “If we welcome them forward and they embrace what we want to do as a community, and they subject themselves to regulation, that helps everybody. It’s going to help law enforcement. It’s going to help the city. It’s going to help the growers. And ultimately, it’s going to help the patients.”

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