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Boulder did not get a single request for a retail marijuana store license on the first day it was accepting applications, but several area medical marijuana business owners said they believe they are on track to open by mid-February. Boulder licensing officials had promised to hand out licenses to medical marijuana businesses that want to do a full conversion and that had no changes in ownership with just a half-hour meeting. However, the state didn't accept applications from Boulder businesses in the fall because the city wasn't accepting applications, meaning no Boulder dispensaries could open to the general public Jan. 2.
Because of a procedural issue involving how the state processes and shares fees for marijuana business licenses, most Boulder businesses are opting to meet first with the state and then with the city. To get a Boulder retail marijuana license, businesses have to have paid all their fees and surrender their medical marijuana license. Licensing Clerk Mishawn Cook said she expects that more businesses will make appointments to talk to the city next week after meeting with state regulators.
Boulder did issue retail licenses to the city's four manufacturers of infused marijuana products so that they could make and sell products to the recreational market. Updated numbers from the state on applications from Boulder County businesses were not yet available. Just one Boulder business, the Dandelion, had an interview scheduled for Thursday but rescheduled it to Monday. The Dandelion cannot convert its 845 Walnut St. location because it lies in a mixed-use zone where city ordinances don't allow recreational marijuana. (A bear-spray-wielding man robbed the Dandelion a year ago, and neighbors cited the incident as they lobbied the City Council not to allow the business to convert.)
However, the Dandelion bought the former Boulder Rx location at 1146 Pearl St. in a deal that closed earlier this week. Co-owner Lauren Ginsberg confirmed that the business for which they are considering a recreational license is the former Boulder Rx, but she said she was not prepared to discuss her plans yet. A sign in the window of Boulder Rx says: "Coming Soon: Native Roots Apothecary/Tentative Opening Feb. 2014." Christopher Woods, co-owner of Terrapin Care Station, said he has an interview scheduled for Friday with the state Marijuana Enforcement Division, but he won't apply for a Boulder license until he has a state license in hand. He doesn't want to surrender his medical marijuana license until he can open as a recreational business. Under state law, the enforcement division cannot issue a license any sooner than 45 days from when he applies. That puts him at mid-February if everything goes smoothly.
Terrapin Care Station has two locations -- one on Manhattan Circle and one at the site of the former coffee shop at the intersection of Arapahoe Avenue and Folsom Street. Woods is planning to convert just the Folsom Street location because he can't own two retail marijuana stores. Many businesses are still weighing whether to co-locate -- operate a medical and a recreational marijuana store in the same location -- to take advantage of both markets. Medical customers will pay much lower taxes and sometimes prefer different strains.
In Boulder, though not in most other jurisdictions, those businesses have to construct physical separations between the two operations, even in the cultivation facility, including separate entrances for the two sides of the business. Boulder won't accept those applications until Jan. 21 and not until Feb. 3 if the co-location involves an expansion. Those businesses would then have to pull building permits and wait for inspections to be completed.
Jeff Kless, owner of Helping Hands Herbals, said he's still on the fence. Co-location is a huge expense, but a straight conversion feels like abandoning his medical customers, who supported his business over the last four years. "We don't know," he said. "We're going to wait and see how things develop. There's no real point in trying to be the first one on the block. I hate to leave my patients out in the cold because I can't discount it enough to make up for the taxes. These are the people who have supported me for the last four years."
Those businesses that convert one location and keep another as a medical business get to take advantage of both markets for now, but they'll be constrained if and when the medical market eventually goes away as customers don't renew their patient cards. "This is uncharted territory," Woods said. "There could be some benefits (to having both medical and recreational businesses), but no one really knows."
Dylan Donaldson, owner of Caring Kind dispensary a mile north of Boulder in unincorporated Boulder County, said he had his interview with state regulators Tuesday and is now just waiting for the 45-day window to close. His application with Boulder County is progressing well. He also expects to open in mid-February. Donaldson was planning to do a virtual separation and maintain a medical business, but after fielding phone calls from recreational customers all day and turning away people at the door, he's planning to do a straight conversion. "I can see that the market is there," he said.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Dailycamera.com
Author: Erica Meltzer
Contact: Contact Us - Boulder Daily Camera
Website: Boulder sees no pot shop applications yet - Boulder Daily Camera
Because of a procedural issue involving how the state processes and shares fees for marijuana business licenses, most Boulder businesses are opting to meet first with the state and then with the city. To get a Boulder retail marijuana license, businesses have to have paid all their fees and surrender their medical marijuana license. Licensing Clerk Mishawn Cook said she expects that more businesses will make appointments to talk to the city next week after meeting with state regulators.
Boulder did issue retail licenses to the city's four manufacturers of infused marijuana products so that they could make and sell products to the recreational market. Updated numbers from the state on applications from Boulder County businesses were not yet available. Just one Boulder business, the Dandelion, had an interview scheduled for Thursday but rescheduled it to Monday. The Dandelion cannot convert its 845 Walnut St. location because it lies in a mixed-use zone where city ordinances don't allow recreational marijuana. (A bear-spray-wielding man robbed the Dandelion a year ago, and neighbors cited the incident as they lobbied the City Council not to allow the business to convert.)
However, the Dandelion bought the former Boulder Rx location at 1146 Pearl St. in a deal that closed earlier this week. Co-owner Lauren Ginsberg confirmed that the business for which they are considering a recreational license is the former Boulder Rx, but she said she was not prepared to discuss her plans yet. A sign in the window of Boulder Rx says: "Coming Soon: Native Roots Apothecary/Tentative Opening Feb. 2014." Christopher Woods, co-owner of Terrapin Care Station, said he has an interview scheduled for Friday with the state Marijuana Enforcement Division, but he won't apply for a Boulder license until he has a state license in hand. He doesn't want to surrender his medical marijuana license until he can open as a recreational business. Under state law, the enforcement division cannot issue a license any sooner than 45 days from when he applies. That puts him at mid-February if everything goes smoothly.
Terrapin Care Station has two locations -- one on Manhattan Circle and one at the site of the former coffee shop at the intersection of Arapahoe Avenue and Folsom Street. Woods is planning to convert just the Folsom Street location because he can't own two retail marijuana stores. Many businesses are still weighing whether to co-locate -- operate a medical and a recreational marijuana store in the same location -- to take advantage of both markets. Medical customers will pay much lower taxes and sometimes prefer different strains.
In Boulder, though not in most other jurisdictions, those businesses have to construct physical separations between the two operations, even in the cultivation facility, including separate entrances for the two sides of the business. Boulder won't accept those applications until Jan. 21 and not until Feb. 3 if the co-location involves an expansion. Those businesses would then have to pull building permits and wait for inspections to be completed.
Jeff Kless, owner of Helping Hands Herbals, said he's still on the fence. Co-location is a huge expense, but a straight conversion feels like abandoning his medical customers, who supported his business over the last four years. "We don't know," he said. "We're going to wait and see how things develop. There's no real point in trying to be the first one on the block. I hate to leave my patients out in the cold because I can't discount it enough to make up for the taxes. These are the people who have supported me for the last four years."
Those businesses that convert one location and keep another as a medical business get to take advantage of both markets for now, but they'll be constrained if and when the medical market eventually goes away as customers don't renew their patient cards. "This is uncharted territory," Woods said. "There could be some benefits (to having both medical and recreational businesses), but no one really knows."
Dylan Donaldson, owner of Caring Kind dispensary a mile north of Boulder in unincorporated Boulder County, said he had his interview with state regulators Tuesday and is now just waiting for the 45-day window to close. His application with Boulder County is progressing well. He also expects to open in mid-February. Donaldson was planning to do a virtual separation and maintain a medical business, but after fielding phone calls from recreational customers all day and turning away people at the door, he's planning to do a straight conversion. "I can see that the market is there," he said.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Dailycamera.com
Author: Erica Meltzer
Contact: Contact Us - Boulder Daily Camera
Website: Boulder sees no pot shop applications yet - Boulder Daily Camera
