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Colorado Republicans have proposed a voter referendum on whether or not to allow dispensaries in the State.

These Republicans are against HB 1284 because it creates a regulatory framework for the industry, while they want to stamp it out. They claim that dispensaries are not allowed under the Colorado Constitutional amendment that legalized medicinal marijuana.

Proponents of the dispensary model point to the word "dispense" in the amendment's language, to say that dispensaries are constitutionally protected.

Brian Vincente, a prominent medical marijuana activist, is also proposing a voter referendum to expand the dispensary system, in case HB 1284 restricts access to patients too much.

The bill to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado has passed another hurdle. The senate committee passed the bill through, although some Senators said that they may not vote for it on the final floor vote.

Romer has backed down from his statement of $35,000 fees. More reasonable numbers are being bandied about now, but would still be high combined with local fees.

If the fees were kept low, and the requirement for 70% of medicine to be grown on site were taken out this wouldn't be a horrendous bill, but still a bad one.

Any bill that requires an entrepreneur to have paid off all of their student loans before opening a business is a bad bill. There should not be a double standard for dispensaries, which are protected by Colorado's Constitution.

A majority of the medical marijuana industry in Colorado believe that enacting reasonable regulations are beneficial to the industry and patients in the state. Here is an update of where regulation stands now.

HB 1284 is the bill that was passed on April 20th that would put the dispensary industry under regulation by the Colorado Department of Revenue.

In order to operate lawfully, a dispensary would have to get a license. This would take effect July of 2011. Until then, dispensaries can operate as they are now.

The amount for the license is under debate, an industry lobbying group is saying that it will only be $1,800 per year, but Chris Romer has proposed an amendment that would impose a $35,000 per year fee.

This fee is supposed to go towards paying inspectors to regularly check on dispensaries, to make sure that they do not have too much medicine on hand.

The bill would also require dispensaries to grow 70% of their medicine on site.

The bill is full of a lot of other controversial items. One of these is a requirement that dispensary licenses only be granted to people of good moral character, whatever that means.

The bill also sets up a licensing system for primary caregivers, individuals who grow for patients without a storefront, that limits them to five patients, and forbids them from teaming up with other caregivers.

Why such regulation is needed is unclear. Colorado has not fallen apart, crime has not risen, and morality has not declined. The only thing that has happened is a large industry has been taken out of the shadows and put into the light, and in the process a lot of tax revenue has been generated, and a lot of economic activity has taken place.

There is a vague sense among some quarters that medical marijuana is "out of control" and the answer to that is a complicated licensing scheme, burdensome regulations and more expenses for patients.

The fight is not over though, and activists are lobbying our politicians to avoid making this mistake, and to change the bill to something more reasonable.

Because in all of this regulation, there is nothing that will help patients. Nothing in this will test medicine for pesticide residue, or contamination. The part of the bill about licensing edible makers makes clear that the state will not guarantee the safety of the edibles.

The only motivation behind this bill is a need to control, and the senate would be wise to not pass this bill.

If that happens, we can only hope that the governor vetoes it.

The farming town of Fruita has decided to impose a 5% sales tax on medical marijuana and paraphernalia, making it the first Colorado town to do so.

John Suthers, Colorado Attorney General has ruled that medical cannabis can be subject to state and local taxes.

Fruita has no dispensaries at the moment, but that hasn't stopped the city council from forecasting that the tax will bring in $100,000 in revenue in the first year.

60% of voters approved the tax measure.

The move is yet another instance of the dispensary system becoming accepted.

Changes to HB 1284 that make the law friendlier to dispensary and patient interests have come as welcome news to medical marijuana patients in Colorado.

A divided House Judiciary Committee removed a provision that would have allowed local governments to ban dispensaries in their communities. The committee also voted to allow consumption of marijuana-infused products at dispensaries, lower the amount of marijuana a dispensary would have to grow itself, eliminate a cap on the number of patients a dispensary could serve and loosen the rules for past criminal violations that could automatically disqualify someone from owning a dispensary.

Dispensaries would now have to be licensed by the state of Colorado, and grow seven tenths of the medicine that they sell. One of the most important changes to the bill eliminates the proposed cap on patients a dispensary can provide care for, as well as a ban on eating marijuana edibles on the premises of a dispensary.

The changes also prohibit towns from banning dispensaries.

The committee was split, with Democrats favoring the patient friendly changes. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs is upset that the changes will not allow towns to ban dispensaries.

Conservative opponents of medical marijuana continue to claim that Amendment 20 does not allow a dispensary system.

Kremmling has decided to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in it's limits, enacting criminal penalties for operating a dispensary. The Colorado Constitutional Amendment did not stop the town from banning dispensaries.

“We've got to draw the line somewhere,” Trustee Jason Bock said Wednesday night, a sentiment echoed by other trustees...

...The ordinance, adopted Wednesday, will go into effect in 30 days. It says the Board of Trustees “finds it essential that the Town enact ordinances to prevent the secondary effects of medical marijuana dispensaries, which are deemed detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare ...”

- Durango Herald News

The ordinance creates criminal penalties of up to one year in jail and/or one thousand dollars in fines, but officials say it does not target medical card holders who grow for personal use.

The town does not want to confiscate medical marijuana plants because it would have to care for them while the matter is being settled, or risk a lawsuit.

We will have to wait for this ordinance to be tested in court to determine its constitutionality.

The town of Oak Creek is scheduled to vote on a 90 day moratorium to prevent medical marijuana cultivation land-use requests from being approved by the town. The moratorium is not retroactive and will not apply to grow operations that began before the moratorium is to be put in place.

The town does not want to get into the legality of marijuana grow operations, or the medical marijuana political debate. The moratorium is in response to informal requests about the possibility of large medical marijuana cultivation operations on Main Street.

The town rejected a moratorium on dispensaries in January and instead decided to grant a conditional license for one dispensary. Dispensary members testified during the hearing that they grow most of their medical marijuana outside of Oak Creek and bring it in to sell at the dispensary.

A big display of opposition from medical marijuana activists across the state has led Colorado lawmakers to delay a vote on House Bill 1284. The bill would have required dispensaries to obtain licenses from both local and state officials before operating.

The bill would also have imposed stricter regulations on advertising for dispensaries but a rewrite of the bill loosened the restrictions.

Medical marijuana advocates argue that the law would decrease competition and access for medical patients in the state.

An Arapaho County judge ruled that the town of Centennial can not cite federal law as the reason to ban medical marijuana dispensaries.

The dispensary in question, named CannaMart, cannot be closed due to a ban on this type of business. The ruling left open the possibility that zoning could be used to close the store.

The Dispensary would be classified as a pharmacy for zoning purposes, and the area that it is in is not zoned for pharmacies.

Even though marijuana is illegal under federal law, local towns cannot enforce federal laws. Local towns must abide by the state constitution which protects medical marijuana as a right for citizens.

Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, He is talking about adding an amendment to his bill to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries that would add an excise tax to the sale of medical marijuana in the state. This new tax would be on top of the existing sales tax is collected already.

Romer Believes that the tax would bring in $10-$15 million in revenue annually. He wants to use the money for drug educations programs for teens, treatment programs and medical care for veterans in older people.

How much tax is enough tax on medical marijuana?