Mt. Crested Butte heading toward moratorium on medical marijuana

“I don’t think you’d want it slopeside…”

Mt. Crested Butte couldn’t stay out of the medical marijuana fray for long. The town of Crested Butte enacted an ordinance earlier this year allowing for a limited number of dispensaries; Gunnison County enacted a moratorium prohibiting dispensaries until at least May. During its March 2 meeting, the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council decided to have the town draw up an ordinance placing a moratorium on dispensaries in town as well. The length is not yet determined.

The dispensary discussion in Mt. Crested Butte was spurred by Western Holistics’ recent submission of a business license application to the town. The proprietors presented to the council, and explained their thought process behind opening a dispensary in Mt. Crested Butte.
“We were trying to do it up here, because the rest of the county is moving so slowly,” said Hallie Blalock, Western Holistics’ vice president. “We don’t have a space yet; we want to see what you guys think about it. We don’t want to step on anybody’s toes… I don’t think you’d want it slopeside,” he said, joking.
“It creates revenue and drives foot traffic,” he added. “We just did a tour of two-dozen dispensaries, and saw four-to-five people in every one.”
“We think it would bring revenue up here. Nobody can open up a dispensary in Gunnison or Crested Butte for at least three months. Legally, as long as you get a business license and tax ID’s, we could just open. But we wanted to talk with you guys first.”
A significant part of the discussion that followed emphasized the fact that the state’s regulations regarding dispensaries are still in flux, and the council was hesitant to make a decision for or against without knowing the outcome at the state level. Mt. Crested Butte Town Attorney Rod Landwehr questioned whether dispensaries and caregivers that are operating currently are legal, or are just “getting away with it.”
Mayor William Buck asked, “What’s the feeling of the council?”
Councilperson David Clayton responded, “I hate to see us try to do something without knowing what the state is going to do.”
“So you’re proposing a moratorium until the dust settles?” Buck asked. Clayton confirmed that was his position.
Councilperson Gary Keiser agreed, “With the murkiness of the legal stuff, I think we should postpone.”
The representatives of Western Holistics seemed slightly disappointed by the council’s position, but not surprised. “We’ll just go to another town, like Montrose, where there are already four or five dispensaries operating.”
With that, the council directed town manger Joe Fitzpatrick and Landwehr to draw up an ordinance placing a moratorium on dispensaries in Mt. Crested Butte. The council will vote on the ordinance during its March 16 meeting.