Medical marijuana dispensaries near schools, residential areas may be shuttered

Medical marijuana dispensaries operating near residential areas and schools in Colorado Springs could be shut down under a resolution the City Council will consider Tuesday.

The city’s code enforcement officers would act only on a complaint basis, but even dispensaries that have been in business for years would be subject to an investigation.

“If they’re an illegal use, they would have to shut down, just like any other illegal use in the city,” said Vice Mayor Larry Small, who initially proposed a moratorium.

The resolution, which the council directed the City Attorney’s Office to prepare Monday in time for today’s council meeting, drew sharp criticism from members of a task force that has been working on an ordinance to regulate the city’s medical marijuana industry.

The proposed ordinance, which is being reviewed by the Council of Neighbors and Organizations, law enforcement officials and others, was crafted after months of meetings and is scheduled to be considered by the council again in March.

“We were doing really well with this process, and I don’t know why they decided to circumvent it,” said Tanya Garduno, a task force member and a director of the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council.

“It almost seems pretty sneaky to me,” she said.

The resolution “came out of the blue without much discussion or ... forethought,” said Councilman Sean Paige, who headed the task force along with Councilman Tom Gallagher. “I guess some (on council) seem inclined to use a hacksaw where a scalpel would suffice. I’m just worried about the reactionary mindset that’s setting in when there isn’t a citywide problem or crisis involving medical marijuana.”

The resolution was born out of a slew of complaints about a planned medical marijuana dispensary in the old Mission Inn Restaurant on North Academy Boulevard.

“We’re not quite sure what’s going on in there,” Small said. “We’re not quite sure what to expect. Our code enforcement people don’t know what criteria to use when they go out and look at it. I wanted something put in place so that we had some objective criteria.”

Clifton Black, an attorney for the owner or owners of the business on North Academy, could not be reached for comment.

Councilman Darryl Glenn, whose district includes the planned dispensary, said he’s been receiving 30 to 50 complaints about it via e-mail every day.

“When the original issue came up, I wanted to put essentially a stop-work order in place because this was something that was happening as the neighborhoods were clearly objecting to it,” Glenn said. “We’re concerned that while we’re getting some community input (on the proposed ordinance), we’re seeing this proliferation of these dispensaries that are popping up, and we need to get a handle on it.”

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Coming Saturday
Colorado Springs and the state are looking to regulate a growing medical marijuana industry. And make no mistake about it, Colorado’s Amendment 20 has spawned an industry — one that could boost a still-ailing economy but one that has raised challenges for state and local leaders.