Marijuana ordinance moving too slowly?

The state will likely play a role

The approval of medical marijuana dispensaries in Crested Butte continues to move slowly through the bureaucratic process. And new regulations being considered by state lawmakers could put a crimp on the plans of those pursuing such dispensaries in town.

According to town clerk Eileen Hughes, one of the six original applicants has withdrawn their application, so there will be no need for a lottery. Under the Crested Butte ordinance, only five dispensaries would be permitted inside town at once.
“All five applications have been deemed complete and so now they go to the next stage of review,” Hughes told the Crested Butte council at their April 19 meeting. “The building department, BOZAR [Board of Zoning and Architectural Review] and the marshal’s office will now look at the applications. Based on the way things are now, BOZAR may get to them in May or June.”
The snail’s pace of the process was a bit disturbing to councilperson Dan Escalante. “I feel for these guys,” he said. “It feels like we are putting them through a huge wringer to get them up and running. We already have a reputation for not being so good with business and some of them are already paying rent. I want to see the process move along for these businesses.”
Hughes admitted it might seem the timeline is a bit “burdensome, but long periods of review are part of the ordinance,” she said.
“This is such a new thing that the ordinance was set up that way on purpose,” mayor Leah Williams reminded Escalante.
Town attorney John Belkin told the council members that the state legislature is looking at passing new regulations governing medical marijuana dispensaries. “As it stands—but the lawyers are all arguing over this—it says dispensaries not operating by July 1, 2010 may not be able to operate. It could be another year before more dispensaries would be allowed and they all would have to have state approval,” he explained. “The marijuana industry is trying to get an amendment that would allow applicants that have applied for permits before July to be allowed to operate if approved. So this is a law in flux right now.”
“If it looks like the amendment won’t pass, we should have a plan to expedite the applications,” suggested Escalante. “If it takes more BOZAR meetings to meet the deadline, so be it.”
Councilperson Roland Mason wasn’t so enthusiastic. “I see where you are coming from but this is new territory for the town and those that applied were certainly aware of the risks involved.”
“I hear what you’re saying,” responded Escalante, “but we are being so slow compared to so many other places.”
Belkin reminded Escalante the town didn’t enact a moratorium. “This is unplowed ground and we’ll have to watch the state to see where our ordinance comes in. At the moment, this is all informational but more than likely, all the applicants will have to be approved by the state as well.”
The wait for those hoping to open local dispensaries will continue for at least a few more months.