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Businesses and retailers seeking to take advantage of the newly-adopted statewide marijuana laws will have to set up shop outside of Thornton.
Thornton City Council unanimously approved an ordinance during its Jan. 8 regular meeting to prohibit marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities, product manufacturing facilities and testing facilities on the heels of Amendment 64's passage in the general election.
The ordinance will also circumscribe the definitions of these marijuana facilities around those now written into the state's Constitution.
The amendment, which was signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper, legalizes the growth, transport and sale of marijuana for recreational use; permit anyone 21 years old or older to possess and consume up to 1 ounce of marijuana; and allow for the operation of marijuana retail stores, manufacturing facilities and testing facilities statewide.
Jeff Coder, the deputy city manager for city development, said the amendment allows local governments to prohibit marijuana facilities by either enacting an ordinance or placing a ballot measure on the 2014 general election ballot for county voters to consider.
He said these city ordinances would allow local governments to govern the time, place, manner and number of marijuana businesses within the city's limits.
The Legislature is expected to adopt a licensing system by July 1, 2013. If a state licensing system is approved by the Legislature, the state could begin accepting licensing applications by Oct. 1, 2013. If the City Council took no action, Coder said marijuana businesses could have begun operations in Thornton as early as Jan. 1, 2014.
Mayor Heidi Williams said she supported the temporary facility prohibition ordinance because it would give the Legislature and the 24-member Task Force on the Implementation of Amendment 64 some time to consider how marijuana should be regulated and taxed.
"There is nothing put in place at the state level that in any way protects or helps the city of Thornton or other municipalities with the amendment," Williams said. "At some point, I suppose there would be a possibility of us reconsidering the prohibition, but at this point, we're not comfortable with the city doing that."
Mayor Pro Tem Val Vigil agreed and said the road ahead will be a difficult one as the council tries to strike a balance between preserving their residents' resounding calls to legalize recreational marijuana and maintaining some measure of control within the new laws.
Willaims and Vigil both noted that Amendment 64 had passed by more than 50 percent of the city's voters in all four individual wards.
"This is going to be hard – it's not going to be an easy call to make," Vigil said. "It's not going to be an easy decision to allow marijuana licenses within the city, but if we don't, then some people may say that we're going against the wishes of the majority of the people. It's really a Catch-22."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: ourcoloradonews.com
Author: Darin Moriki
Contact: dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com
Website: Thornton to prohibit marijuana facilities - Our Colorado News: Thornton Sentinel News: northglenn, thornton, amendment 64, marijuana,
Thornton City Council unanimously approved an ordinance during its Jan. 8 regular meeting to prohibit marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities, product manufacturing facilities and testing facilities on the heels of Amendment 64's passage in the general election.
The ordinance will also circumscribe the definitions of these marijuana facilities around those now written into the state's Constitution.
The amendment, which was signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper, legalizes the growth, transport and sale of marijuana for recreational use; permit anyone 21 years old or older to possess and consume up to 1 ounce of marijuana; and allow for the operation of marijuana retail stores, manufacturing facilities and testing facilities statewide.
Jeff Coder, the deputy city manager for city development, said the amendment allows local governments to prohibit marijuana facilities by either enacting an ordinance or placing a ballot measure on the 2014 general election ballot for county voters to consider.
He said these city ordinances would allow local governments to govern the time, place, manner and number of marijuana businesses within the city's limits.
The Legislature is expected to adopt a licensing system by July 1, 2013. If a state licensing system is approved by the Legislature, the state could begin accepting licensing applications by Oct. 1, 2013. If the City Council took no action, Coder said marijuana businesses could have begun operations in Thornton as early as Jan. 1, 2014.
Mayor Heidi Williams said she supported the temporary facility prohibition ordinance because it would give the Legislature and the 24-member Task Force on the Implementation of Amendment 64 some time to consider how marijuana should be regulated and taxed.
"There is nothing put in place at the state level that in any way protects or helps the city of Thornton or other municipalities with the amendment," Williams said. "At some point, I suppose there would be a possibility of us reconsidering the prohibition, but at this point, we're not comfortable with the city doing that."
Mayor Pro Tem Val Vigil agreed and said the road ahead will be a difficult one as the council tries to strike a balance between preserving their residents' resounding calls to legalize recreational marijuana and maintaining some measure of control within the new laws.
Willaims and Vigil both noted that Amendment 64 had passed by more than 50 percent of the city's voters in all four individual wards.
"This is going to be hard – it's not going to be an easy call to make," Vigil said. "It's not going to be an easy decision to allow marijuana licenses within the city, but if we don't, then some people may say that we're going against the wishes of the majority of the people. It's really a Catch-22."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: ourcoloradonews.com
Author: Darin Moriki
Contact: dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com
Website: Thornton to prohibit marijuana facilities - Our Colorado News: Thornton Sentinel News: northglenn, thornton, amendment 64, marijuana,
