Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Medical marijuana isn't big business in Longmont - but it may be a bigger business than in Boulder.
Not in terms of gross dollars, of course. Through October 2010 ( the most recent date for which there are figures ), Boulder took in $444,777 in sales tax from its dispensaries. Longmont saw a comparatively small $61,798.
But Boulder has 117 dispensaries with business and sales tax licenses ( and another 62 that never applied for the former ). Longmont has nine.
Add it up. That's about $6,866 per Longmont dispensary. Boulder's averages out to just shy of $2,485 - or to about $3,801 if you include only the fully licensed businesses.
"I wonder if that's to do with the market conditions," said Longmont revenue manager Ezequiel Vasquez. "There's less competition."
And not much room for more. Longmont has had a moratorium on new dispensaries since fall 2009. It currently is set to last until June 30, the day before new state regulations on medical marijuana take effect.
July 1 is also the deadline for municipalities to enact their own regulations. That can range from local licensing standards to an outright ban of medical marijuana businesses.
It's an issue that's taken time for some communities to work out. In October 2009, Dacono laid out zoning rules for dispensaries. The following May, a moratorium went into place. The city now has three dispensaries, one still new enough that there aren't sales tax numbers for it yet.
"We're going to be looking, probably in February or March, on what we're doing long-term," said Dacono administrator Bill Efting. "We need to figure out what we're doing by July 1 for sure, and we hope to have it worked out by the first of May."
Dacono's two reporting dispensaries brought in a combined $18,260 of sales tax, as of October 2010.
By comparison, the business seems to be narrowing in Lyons. The small town started the year with seven dispensaries, and was down to four by October, according to town administrator Victoria Simonsen.
A couple had been licensed but never actually got under way, Simonsen said, while others dropped out rather than go through the state licensing process. Lyons is working with the remaining four, she said, as the town designs its local licensing authority and zoning rules for dispensaries.
"We have a goal set to have those things in place by the end of March," she said.
During the 10-month period, Lyons collected $3,067 in sales tax from the dispensaries.
NewsHawk: Jim Behr: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Daily Times-Call, The (Longmont, CO)
Copyright: 2011, The Daily Times-Call
Contact: opinion@times-call.com
Website: The Longmont Times-Call
Details: MapInc
Author: Scott Rochat
Not in terms of gross dollars, of course. Through October 2010 ( the most recent date for which there are figures ), Boulder took in $444,777 in sales tax from its dispensaries. Longmont saw a comparatively small $61,798.
But Boulder has 117 dispensaries with business and sales tax licenses ( and another 62 that never applied for the former ). Longmont has nine.
Add it up. That's about $6,866 per Longmont dispensary. Boulder's averages out to just shy of $2,485 - or to about $3,801 if you include only the fully licensed businesses.
"I wonder if that's to do with the market conditions," said Longmont revenue manager Ezequiel Vasquez. "There's less competition."
And not much room for more. Longmont has had a moratorium on new dispensaries since fall 2009. It currently is set to last until June 30, the day before new state regulations on medical marijuana take effect.
July 1 is also the deadline for municipalities to enact their own regulations. That can range from local licensing standards to an outright ban of medical marijuana businesses.
It's an issue that's taken time for some communities to work out. In October 2009, Dacono laid out zoning rules for dispensaries. The following May, a moratorium went into place. The city now has three dispensaries, one still new enough that there aren't sales tax numbers for it yet.
"We're going to be looking, probably in February or March, on what we're doing long-term," said Dacono administrator Bill Efting. "We need to figure out what we're doing by July 1 for sure, and we hope to have it worked out by the first of May."
Dacono's two reporting dispensaries brought in a combined $18,260 of sales tax, as of October 2010.
By comparison, the business seems to be narrowing in Lyons. The small town started the year with seven dispensaries, and was down to four by October, according to town administrator Victoria Simonsen.
A couple had been licensed but never actually got under way, Simonsen said, while others dropped out rather than go through the state licensing process. Lyons is working with the remaining four, she said, as the town designs its local licensing authority and zoning rules for dispensaries.
"We have a goal set to have those things in place by the end of March," she said.
During the 10-month period, Lyons collected $3,067 in sales tax from the dispensaries.
NewsHawk: Jim Behr: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Daily Times-Call, The (Longmont, CO)
Copyright: 2011, The Daily Times-Call
Contact: opinion@times-call.com
Website: The Longmont Times-Call
Details: MapInc
Author: Scott Rochat
