Two Medical-Pot Shops Open In Louisville, Just Before Moratorium

[Ganjarden]

Unbeknownst to city officials, two medical-marijuana dispensaries have opened in Louisville, squeaking ahead of a moratorium.

Owners of both promised to be good neighbors Wednesday, a day after the City Council gave initial approval to a temporary ban on new dispensaries. Citing a growing debate and rumblings of potential state legislation to regulate such businesses, council members approved a moratorium Tuesday night, saying they would lift it at the end of the state's legislative session on May 15.

The city acknowledged that two dispensaries had been approved for business licenses, but Mayor Chuck Sisk said he hoped they wouldn't open with the moratorium pending. A public hearing and final vote are scheduled for Oct. 20.

But owners of both dispensaries, located in the Colony Square Shopping Center, told the Camera on Wednesday that they're already open and are working with local police and keeping careful records.

"There's nothing shady going on here at all," said Jack Alterman, who opened AlterMeds with his mom, longtime Boulder Realtor Laurel Alterman, about a week ago. "We want to be a part of the community. We hope to give Louisville lots of sales tax revenue and draw people here to eat at restaurants and shop."

Louisville Planning Director Paul Wood said the city's past practice when enacting moratoriums has been to exempt existing uses or those that already had received approval.

With this moratorium, he said he's waiting for direction from the city attorney and city manager on how to handle the two dispensaries. Both also still need final construction inspections through the city's building department.

Laurel Alterman said she's confident AlterMeds would meet any regulation requirements the city decided to impose.

The shop uses security cameras inside and out and requires clients to provide paperwork before they're admitted through a locked door to the waiting room. Client information, including copies of their state-issued medical marijuana ID cards, is kept on an encrypted thumb drive.

The shop also is careful never to keep more cannabis inside the building than what's allowed under the law on a per-patient basis, she said, and only buys from legal Colorado growers.

Across the street in the same shopping center, Compassionate Pain Management is open by appointment only as the owners work to get the offices ready. Co-owner Steven Caplan said the business is a holistic health center that also will serve as a medical marijuana dispensary for clients.

"We're really truly a wellness center first," he said. "We're not glorified drug dealers. We have an open-door policy. All our growers are legal."

Other services offered include massage, Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture, he said. He said he's concerned that the city will try to prohibit the dispensary portion of his business from operating because of the moratorium.

"It would be really unfair for the city to approve us and go back after the fact," he said.

Colorado voters in 2000 passed a law allowing patients with chronic pain to medicate themselves with marijuana.

The language in the state statute -- which specifies that "caregivers" can provide marijuana to a patient but says nothing about dispensaries -- has caused confusion among prosecutors, law enforcement agencies, dispensary owners and patients.

Both Broomfield and Superior have banned dispensaries outright, while Erie, Lafayette and Longmont have given initial approval to moratoriums.


News Hawk- Ganjarden http://www.420Magazine.com
Source: Colorado Daily
Author: Amy Bounds
Contact: Colorado Daily
Copyright: 2009 Media News Group
Website: Two Medical-Pot Shops Open In Louisville, Just Before Moratorium