OUR VIEW: It's do-or-die day for medical pot (vote in poll)

Today could be do or die for medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado Springs. The City Council will decide whether to allow a thriving new industry to remain in business, or whether to effectively kill it by failing to pass an ordinance that would enable marijuana growers and sellers to meet a local registration deadline passed by the Colorado Legislature.

HB10-1284, the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code, will take effect July 1 if Gov. Bill Ritter signs it, as expected. The constitutionality of the bill is highly questionable, and some of Colorado’s leading attorneys are already working with dozens of plaintiffs to prepare lawsuits. The Colorado Constitution prevents state or local governments from depriving citizens the right to possess, obtain, transport and use medical marijuana. Yet HB10-1284 is written to magically overpower constitutional law and grant local governments the authority to outlaw medical marijuana sales, thus severely restricting any individual’s right to procure it. It is an obvious affront to the letter and intent of the Amendment 20 of the Colorado Constitution.

The bill requires established growers and sellers of medical marijuana to apply for approval to a local government on or before July 1 to qualify for a state medical marijuana business license. Without the proposed ordinance, the city would have no procedure to facilitate marijuana sellers in registering locally and none of the local businesses would qualify for state licensure.

Because of the tight deadline imposed by the Legislature, Council will consider the ordinance without the benefit of public hearings or two formal readings. It’s obvious some in the Legislature hoped local governments would drag their feet or bumble around, giving marijuana sellers no means of abiding by the required date to register with local government. That’s because some politicians so dislike the constitutional right to medical marijuana — a law enacted by the people of Colorado — that they will stop at nothing in a crusade to violate the people’s will. Constitutions restrict the activities of those who make and enforce laws, so we can always expect a percentage of rebel politicians to despise and violate the laws that govern them.

The ordinance Council will consider would serve as a stop-gap measure to enable marijuana businesses to technically comply with the deadline of the state’s new marijuana code. The proposed ordinance specifies that pre-registration is only for the purpose of meeting the July 1 deadline and would not create a local or state license or establish entitlement to a license.

To pre-apply with the city successfully, a medical marijuana business would have to be more than 200 feet from any school, alcohol/drug treatment center or residential child care facility — all very reasonable restrictions. The business could not be within a residential zone, would operate in property with a storefront, would remit sales taxes in timely fashion and would pay a pre-application fee of $500. The pre-application fee would credit toward future license application fees the city may establish.

(Please let City Council know how you feel by voting in poll to the right. Must vote to see results. Thanks!)

It is shameful the Legislature put the City Council and other local governing boards into an unreasonable time crunch, depriving them the opportunity for public hearings and deliberations that result in sound policy decisions. The attempt to quash a constitutional right with legislative shenanigans reflects nothing less than an arrogant contempt for the public by a variety of state politicians.

Members of the City Council, please make the responsible decision and approve this ordinance. The people who have invested heavily in new medical marijuana businesses did so with reasonable expectations that our state constitution means something. They invested with a common-sense understanding that the right to possess and obtain medical marijuana necessitates a right to sell it within the confines of reasonable time, place and manner restrictions.

Those who dislike the medical marijuana trade should fight it by amending the Colorado Constitution. That’s their ethical and legal option. Unless they do that, local governments should impose reasonable taxes, fees and regulations and get on with more important issues.

— Wayne Laugesen, editorial page editor, for the editorial board. Friend him on Facebook

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