Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
An ordinance being considered by the Douglas County Board of Commissioners would limit the number of marijuana plants being grown at a primary residence.
The three commissioners voted unanimously July 12 to put regulations on growing, cultivating and processing marijuana in unincorporated Douglas County. The ordinance will go to second reading Aug. 9 at the 2:30 p.m. public hearing.
"I think we've come up with a great solution ... considering the failure of the Legislature to deal with this issue," Commissioner Jill Repella said. "(The ordinance) does not strip the rights of people who have the right to use marijuana according to our state constitution, but it puts some reasonable parameters around what people do."
Douglas County has already prohibited commercial marijuana operations, but per state law, the county cannot prohibit non-commercial individual grow operations.
The ordinance, which was presented to the board by Chief Deputy Steve Johnson of the Douglas County Sheriffs Office, focuses on several key areas: where marijuana can be grown; plant limits per home; a ban on compressed, flammable gas and flammable liquids; the smell or odor produced; and growing at a rental property.
The key element of the ordinance, however, is the regulation on the number of plants allowed at a single residence.
Amendment 64, which was passed by Colorado voters in 2012, allows an individual to home-grow six marijuana plants at a time. But state medical marijuana laws, laid out in 2000 with Amendment 20, allows a caregiver to grow up to 99 plants depending on the number of patients and physician prescriptions, according to Mark Salley, of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which regulates medical marijuana.
As of May, Colorado had 106,066 active medical marijuana patients.
The Douglas County regulations would cap the number of plants allowed at any state of maturity to 12 plants per household, whether the growing is done by patients, caregivers or for personal use.
One plant can produce a pound a marijuana and it takes 90 days for a marijuana plant to grow to maturity.
In 2013, Denver City Council put a 12-plant ban into effect for households within city limits.
Some residents in Douglas County said they are concerned about the scope of pot-growing operations, which can increase based on the number of adults in a household and the combination of growing recreational and medical marijuana. Several people voiced their concerns at the July 12 commission meeting and have complained to the sheriff's office.
The top complaints from residents who live next to homes where marijuana is grown are the stench, traffic and general appearance of the home, Johnson said.
Gretchen Owens, of Castle Pines Village, said the odors emitted by her neighbor's grow house are so foul that the wildlife doesn't come around anymore.
An official complaint logged with the sheriff's office in Highlands Ranch called the odor "unbearable." And said, "it's just not fair for my children."
While the skunk-like smell is one of the elements to be regulated with the new ordinance, Johnson said the main concern is safety.
Major electrical modifications to homes, along with pesticide use and high-intensity heat lamps, make homes that grow marijuana a higher risk for fire, Johnson said.
Marilyn Parker, a Larkspur resident, said having regulations in place, such as the ones the county is considering, will make her feel safer.
"The ordinance is extremely important to put bumpers around what has not been taken care of," she said. "We will not have to live in fear, our houses not going up in fire and the cartels coming in and being a source of danger for us."
Johnson said that while he is not prepared to call them cartels, there is a concern in Douglas County of individuals organized for an enterprise.
"You have individuals who are trying to make a dollar, so they convert their home and they grow marijuana plants," Johnson said. "They ship them out of state, where you can't get them legally, where it pays top dollar. And every 90 days, you may be supplementing your income."
Johnson said that once the Douglas County ordinance is in place, it will give the sheriff's office more leverage to address the messes of marijuana and the grows at unreasonable levels.
If the ordinance is passed in August, violations will constitute a class 2 petty offense and be punishable by a fine of $1,000 for each violation, per each day that the violation exists.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Douglas County Restricts Growing Of Marijuana
Author: Shanna Fortier
Contact: 303-566-4100
Photo Credit: AFP
Website: Elbert County News
The three commissioners voted unanimously July 12 to put regulations on growing, cultivating and processing marijuana in unincorporated Douglas County. The ordinance will go to second reading Aug. 9 at the 2:30 p.m. public hearing.
"I think we've come up with a great solution ... considering the failure of the Legislature to deal with this issue," Commissioner Jill Repella said. "(The ordinance) does not strip the rights of people who have the right to use marijuana according to our state constitution, but it puts some reasonable parameters around what people do."
Douglas County has already prohibited commercial marijuana operations, but per state law, the county cannot prohibit non-commercial individual grow operations.
The ordinance, which was presented to the board by Chief Deputy Steve Johnson of the Douglas County Sheriffs Office, focuses on several key areas: where marijuana can be grown; plant limits per home; a ban on compressed, flammable gas and flammable liquids; the smell or odor produced; and growing at a rental property.
The key element of the ordinance, however, is the regulation on the number of plants allowed at a single residence.
Amendment 64, which was passed by Colorado voters in 2012, allows an individual to home-grow six marijuana plants at a time. But state medical marijuana laws, laid out in 2000 with Amendment 20, allows a caregiver to grow up to 99 plants depending on the number of patients and physician prescriptions, according to Mark Salley, of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which regulates medical marijuana.
As of May, Colorado had 106,066 active medical marijuana patients.
The Douglas County regulations would cap the number of plants allowed at any state of maturity to 12 plants per household, whether the growing is done by patients, caregivers or for personal use.
One plant can produce a pound a marijuana and it takes 90 days for a marijuana plant to grow to maturity.
In 2013, Denver City Council put a 12-plant ban into effect for households within city limits.
Some residents in Douglas County said they are concerned about the scope of pot-growing operations, which can increase based on the number of adults in a household and the combination of growing recreational and medical marijuana. Several people voiced their concerns at the July 12 commission meeting and have complained to the sheriff's office.
The top complaints from residents who live next to homes where marijuana is grown are the stench, traffic and general appearance of the home, Johnson said.
Gretchen Owens, of Castle Pines Village, said the odors emitted by her neighbor's grow house are so foul that the wildlife doesn't come around anymore.
An official complaint logged with the sheriff's office in Highlands Ranch called the odor "unbearable." And said, "it's just not fair for my children."
While the skunk-like smell is one of the elements to be regulated with the new ordinance, Johnson said the main concern is safety.
Major electrical modifications to homes, along with pesticide use and high-intensity heat lamps, make homes that grow marijuana a higher risk for fire, Johnson said.
Marilyn Parker, a Larkspur resident, said having regulations in place, such as the ones the county is considering, will make her feel safer.
"The ordinance is extremely important to put bumpers around what has not been taken care of," she said. "We will not have to live in fear, our houses not going up in fire and the cartels coming in and being a source of danger for us."
Johnson said that while he is not prepared to call them cartels, there is a concern in Douglas County of individuals organized for an enterprise.
"You have individuals who are trying to make a dollar, so they convert their home and they grow marijuana plants," Johnson said. "They ship them out of state, where you can't get them legally, where it pays top dollar. And every 90 days, you may be supplementing your income."
Johnson said that once the Douglas County ordinance is in place, it will give the sheriff's office more leverage to address the messes of marijuana and the grows at unreasonable levels.
If the ordinance is passed in August, violations will constitute a class 2 petty offense and be punishable by a fine of $1,000 for each violation, per each day that the violation exists.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Douglas County Restricts Growing Of Marijuana
Author: Shanna Fortier
Contact: 303-566-4100
Photo Credit: AFP
Website: Elbert County News
