Voters will likely be asked in November whether Aurora will open its doors to medical marijuana dispensaries for the first time since the constitutional amendment was passed in 2000.
Most of the Aurora City Council members agreed Saturday at their spring workshop that the item should be placed on the November ballot and the city's moratorium on dispensaries should be extended to July 2011.
The Colorado Legislature passed a bill this year that allows cities to ban dispensaries at their own discretion. Under the bill, a city can only extend a moratorium until July 2011.
That means that even if voters in Aurora in November approve dispensaries, the city may not see its first one open until the moratorium is lifted.
The majority of voters in Aurora voted for Amendment 20, which legalized medical marijuana, according to data introduced at the workshop, suggesting the majority of voters would approve of medical marijuana dispensaries in Aurora as well.
"My preference would be to ban it in Aurora. But given the fact that people voted in favor (of Amendment 20), we can talk all day about whether anything has changed," said Councilman Bob Broom. "I'd say let's go to the voters to see if they want to ban it or not."
City Attorney Charlie Richardson said the ballot item should be introduced this November to avoid unnecessary costs of paying for a special election.
He said any action that the city takes on medical marijuana would likely be wrought with legal issues because of the current controversy surrounding medical marijuana, and advocates will not want to wait until mid-2011 to have dispensaries in the city.
"Under any of these scenarios, some would say there may be the possibility of litigation or there will be the possibility of litigation," Richardson said.
Before the November ballot item is introduced, the city should already have some regulations in place regarding dispensaries, said Councilman Ryan Frazier said.
"We shouldn't wait until the vote is cast to start working on rules and regulations," Frazier said. "We should have something that we could have ready to give to the public to digest and give us feedback on."
Mayor Ed Tauer said the dispensaries should be in industrial areas only.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Aurora Sentinel
Author: SARA CASTELLANOS
Contact: Aurora Sentinel
Copyright: 2010 Aurora Sentinel
Website: Marijuana question likely for Aurora's Nov. ballot
Most of the Aurora City Council members agreed Saturday at their spring workshop that the item should be placed on the November ballot and the city's moratorium on dispensaries should be extended to July 2011.
The Colorado Legislature passed a bill this year that allows cities to ban dispensaries at their own discretion. Under the bill, a city can only extend a moratorium until July 2011.
That means that even if voters in Aurora in November approve dispensaries, the city may not see its first one open until the moratorium is lifted.
The majority of voters in Aurora voted for Amendment 20, which legalized medical marijuana, according to data introduced at the workshop, suggesting the majority of voters would approve of medical marijuana dispensaries in Aurora as well.
"My preference would be to ban it in Aurora. But given the fact that people voted in favor (of Amendment 20), we can talk all day about whether anything has changed," said Councilman Bob Broom. "I'd say let's go to the voters to see if they want to ban it or not."
City Attorney Charlie Richardson said the ballot item should be introduced this November to avoid unnecessary costs of paying for a special election.
He said any action that the city takes on medical marijuana would likely be wrought with legal issues because of the current controversy surrounding medical marijuana, and advocates will not want to wait until mid-2011 to have dispensaries in the city.
"Under any of these scenarios, some would say there may be the possibility of litigation or there will be the possibility of litigation," Richardson said.
Before the November ballot item is introduced, the city should already have some regulations in place regarding dispensaries, said Councilman Ryan Frazier said.
"We shouldn't wait until the vote is cast to start working on rules and regulations," Frazier said. "We should have something that we could have ready to give to the public to digest and give us feedback on."
Mayor Ed Tauer said the dispensaries should be in industrial areas only.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Aurora Sentinel
Author: SARA CASTELLANOS
Contact: Aurora Sentinel
Copyright: 2010 Aurora Sentinel
Website: Marijuana question likely for Aurora's Nov. ballot
