Colorado’s medical marijuana law is too hazy for the Greeley City Council, which Tuesday imposed a 90-day moratorium on approving any medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.
Officials will use that time to research the state’s medical pot law — passed by Colorado voters in 2000 — and how it applies to setting up dispensaries in local neighborhoods.
“We’re entering into a new level of land-use codes, and we have to be very thoughtful about how to handle it,” said Greeley community development director Becky Safarik. “We can’t just treat it as just another retail outlet.”
Greeley’s Casey Villa Jr. nearly set up his marijuana dispensary without a hitch, said Safarik, adding he was upfront about what kind of business he was proposing.
It was listed as retail sales on his application to the city, and it included the letters “MMJ” — slang for medical marijuana. That didn’t ring any bells with city employees, and he received initial approval.
Villa signed a two-year lease on a building and began to set up shop, she said.
But when a building inspector called on Villa, he came back and reported what he saw. “We got to the point where we decided not to let the sales-tax license application get finished,” Safarik said.
Villa — who planned to open the business with his father — couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday. He told the Greeley Tribune this week that the city’s decision to block his license will hurt him financially.
“Our biggest problem is we’re definitely caught in limbo,” Villa said. “We literally sunk everything we have into it. Now I feel like we’re just left out in the cold.”
The Broomfield City Council this week also took a harder approach to medical marijuana dispensaries, telling the planning department to deny applications to any potential distributors.
“What we’re talking about is some people’s need for weed,” said City Councilman Randy Ahrens.
“If they really have a medical condition, they have a way to get it,” Ahrens said, referring to drugs containing synthetic THC.
Safarik said a draft ordinance should be ready for review by the Greeley City Council in early October.
“It will be an interesting social discussion,” she said.
The Broomfield Enterprise contributed to this report.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
