Article Contributed on: 6/10/2009 11:35:34 AM
Commerce City might be somewhat of a buzz kill for those interested in setting up a medical marijuana dispensary.
The city is taking a hard line stance on the regulation of medical marijuana in the community after a proprietor expressed interest in setting up a dispensary. City attorney Bob Gehler and community development director Brian McBroom recommended a strict set of zoning code regulations to limit the areas where medical marijuana providers could set up shop.
Under the guidelines of the proposal, the dispensaries could not be located within 1,000 feet of residences, churches, schools, mobile homes, child care facilities, rehab facilities, parks or halfway houses. Other restrictions include banning the use of signs or displays depicting the use of medical marijuana and requiring all facilities to conduct business indoors with the windows covered.
Similar regulations currently are in place for sexually-oriented businesses in the city, such as strip clubs, said Kim McCarl, marketing and public relations manager for Commerce City.
"It's a proactive look at how these businesses operate in our community, if they chose to," McCarl said. "We are simply doing what we think is best for our communities and neighborhoods. That's our goal."
Enforcing the regulations, however, could be a sticky process. City planners believe Commerce City is the first in the state to propose such regulations for medical marijuana distributors, McCarl said.
"Our legal department has been very active in looking at what the constitutionality of this is," she said. "Right now, we really don't know."
Medical marijuana dispensaries have been sprouting up in the metro area since state voters passed Amendment 20 in 2000, which allows for the legal use of medical marijuana. Proponents of medical marijuana say the drug can be used to treat conditions and diseases such as cancer, AIDS/HIV, glaucoma and severe pain.
Patients approved for use are required to register with the state and can possess as much as 2 ounces of the drug. The voter-approved law also allows patients to keep as many as six marijuana plants.
Commerce City council reviewed the proposed regulations at a regularly scheduled meeting held June 8 and directed staffers to write up a draft ordinance concerning medical marijuana dispensaries. The draft ordinance is scheduled to go before the planning commission July 7 and city council could review the regulations by early August.