cannabisnews.com: Colo. Pot Shops Face Closure Under Tough New Rules
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Colo. Pot Shops Face Closure Under Tough New Rules
Posted by CN Staff on July 29, 2010 at 16:36:01 PT
By The Associated Press
Source: Associated Press
Colorado -- Nearly a fifth of Colorado's medical marijuana dispensary operators could be forced out of business in coming weeks because of new state rules barring some convicted felons from the pot business, federal drug authorities say.The Drug Enforcement Administration reviewed requirements under a new state law to see how many felons could be forced out of business. The DEA estimates that up to 18 percent of current dispensaries may be shuttered by the no-felon rule.
After years of leaving marijuana rules mostly to local officials, the Colorado Legislature this year required medical marijuana centers to apply for state licenses by Sunday, an effort to bring some regulation to the state's anything-goes medical marijuana industry.To get a license, dispensary owners have to pay hefty fees ranging from $7,500 to $18,000 and show that they haven't been convicted of felonies in the last five years. Owners with felony drug convictions face a lifetime ban from the business.The felony figures, first reported by KUSA-TV, bear out officials' fears that former drug dealers and drug users have flocked to Colorado's nascent medical marijuana industry, made legal under a 2000 amendment to the state constitution. Including less serious crimes, the DEA says about 28 percent of pot shop owners have criminal records for drug offenses."There's people who are in the marijuana business strictly to make a profit and not what was portrayed to the voters, which was care for very sick and imminently dying people," said Kevin Merrill, assistant special agent in charge for the Denver field division of the DEA.Marijuana advocates say the no-felony rule will likely just drive affected pot sellers back to the black market."I'm sure there are places that are going to close their doors, and what's sad is that a lot of people are just going to go back to the underground market, and that means no taxes to the state, no quality control over the marijuana product," said Danyel Joffe, a Denver lawyer who represents medical marijuana growers and sellers.Medical marijuana was cleared by Colorado voters more than a decade ago, but the industry took off last year when the federal government signaled that it wouldn't seek prosecution against marijuana sellers who follow state medical marijuana rules. Coupled with a state decision not to regulate how many patients a caregiver could provide pot for, the federal signal gave rise to more 1,000 dispensaries statewide.The proliferation prompted state lawmakers to adopt the state's first pot-shop licensing plan last session.An even bigger blow to many existing pot shops could take effect Sept. 1, when medical marijuana dispensaries will be required to produce 70 percent of all the pot they sell.That means that marijuana businesses won't be able to outsource production to large-scale growing greenhouses _ something small pot shops often have to do because of the time and expense involved with growing pot. State authorities say the grow-your-own requirement will likely mean the end for small-time operations."People are already closing their doors," said Jake Browne, general manager of The Releaf Center, a Denver medical marijuana center. The Releaf Center has 2,600 patients and is prepared to grow enough marijuana to stay in business, but Browne said many dispensaries won't be able to meet the requirement."You have a lot of people who got into business thinking, 'Hey, I'm going to run a store,' and now they're going to have to run a store and a growing operation, and they're not prepared for that," Browne said.One pot grower getting out of the business is Mark Rose, who opened Grateful Meds in Nederland, Colo., in 2009 but has had to turn over ownership because of a 2000 felony conviction for pot possession."There's a mass exodus," said Rose, 50, who gave his pot shop to a business partner with a clean criminal record and plans to become a consultant. "They're treated us worse than they do Mafia folks."It's unclear how long it'll take for the state to start closing pot shops that don't meet the new requirements. Matt Cook, who will lead enforcement of Colorado's new pot licenses for the state Department of Revenue, says he anticipates 2,200 applications for state licenses to sell medical marijuana. But he said he has no idea how long it'll take to process the applications because he only has three employees and no supplies to process them.Asked how long it would take to start rejecting applications, Cook said with a sigh, "There really is no way of knowing."Cook said that rejected pot sellers could ask for administrative hearings to challenge their rejections.But Joffe warned that Colorado's licensing rules could backfire. She said that many so-called "ganjapreneuers" are still skittish about disclosing information that could land them in federal prison.Although the federal Department of Justice has indicated it won't pursue federal drug charges against marijuana sellers following state medical marijuana laws, Joffe said many in the marijuana business aren't eager to see what happens if the federal agency's position changes.Online:Colorado Department of Revenue Marijuana Guidelines: http://drugsense.org/url/ubQGnuM3Source: Associated Press (Wire)Published: Thursday, July 29, 2010Copyright: 2010 The Associated PressCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #16 posted by Paint with light on July 30, 2010 at 17:25:40 PT
Congratulations EAH
Thanks for not giving up and for helping pave the way for future generations to breathe more free......whatever they want to breathe.Legal like alcohol
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #15 posted by Rainbow on July 30, 2010 at 12:56:19 PT
Felons get another punishment
"been convicted of felonies in the last five years. Owners with felony drug convictions face a lifetime ban from the business"So which is it 5 years or life??I thought that the courts handed down punishment but it seems anyone can. It is so dumb but possibly part fo the plan. Many felons can not even vote - that sure takes care of the minority vote.What a messed up justice system. Made up I am convinced by the right wing religous.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #14 posted by Hope on July 30, 2010 at 09:11:56 PT
Comment 9
Yeah! What BGreen said!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #13 posted by Hope on July 30, 2010 at 09:10:37 PT
EAH
Whoo Hoo!Wow! Wonderful and awesome!I'm so happy for that happening!Of course... it should have never happened... but the killer chimp has been dragged off you and put back in it's cage...and hopefully can't hurt you anymore! That's so good!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #12 posted by Storm Crow on July 30, 2010 at 08:16:47 PT
Wonderful news, EAH!
The good news just keeps on coming!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #11 posted by FoM on July 30, 2010 at 04:02:39 PT
EAH
Congratulations! That is wonderful news for me to wake up and see.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #10 posted by runruff on July 30, 2010 at 02:24:26 PT
EAH
Even a dog has his day in the sun!Better get out your sun block, dog!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #9 posted by BGreen on July 29, 2010 at 22:52:27 PT
runruff and EAH - Our Brothers are FREE!
They didn't kill you. They didn't kill your spirit. They didn't kill your motivation or drive or tenaciousness. They didn't make you less lovable.You are our Freedom Fighters! You are our heroes!The Reverend Bud Green
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #8 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on July 29, 2010 at 22:34:30 PT
Right On EAH!
And given that those "felons" who weren't caught and convicted were probably more likely to have been bribing government officials in order not to be caught or convicted, perhaps they want dispensary owners who are more likely to bribe government officials to get their state dispensary license.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #7 posted by Canis420 on July 29, 2010 at 22:30:09 PT:
EAH
It is hard to put into words what I feel regarding your situation. This lifts my spirit to no end. I am speechless. Get on with your life and continue the fight and know that your sacrifice will help spur us all on. Thank you!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #6 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on July 29, 2010 at 22:16:35 PT
Right On Sam Adams!
It's like they want to eliminate as many people as possible who have experience on how to grow cannabis just when they're going to require dispensaries to grow cannabis.It would be like, if after the Civil War, anyone who had been caught helping to free slaves were forever banned from helping former slaves to find a job.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #5 posted by BGreen on July 29, 2010 at 22:12:35 PT
Congratulations, EAH!
That is awesome news!The Reverend Bud Green
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #4 posted by EAH on July 29, 2010 at 22:08:26 PT:
FALLACY!
It is a spectacularly unjust fallacy and fantasy that the "no felons" requirement prevents "felons" from operating dispensaries. It only prevents those poor souls unlucky enough to ever have been convicted. It does nothing to all those felons who engaged in all the same acts, in some cases for longer periods and at maybe even making far greater "profits". The unlucky get more punished and the
lucky get more rewarded. It is arguably some of the felons who have been the most dedicated and committed to the concept. By what type of mind reading was Mr. Merrill able to divine intent? How is it that it is certain that those without a record are pure of intent. This is a LEO cooking up a rationalization to discriminate. Did the voters really expect all
MMJ activity to be purely and exclusively charitable? The legal definition of
nonprofit does not mean costs and salaries are not earned or paid. That is a
fraudulent and deceptive notion.ON A DIFFERENT NOTE.
TODAY I WAS GRANTED EARLY TERMINATION OF MY 5 YEAR PROBATION.
DESPITE A PACK OF LIES FROM THE DA, THE JUDGE GRANTED MY MOTION.
I WAS THE BIGGEST CANNABIS CASE IN SANTA CRUZ CA IN YEARS. MY LAWYERS WERE VERY CAUTIOUS ABOUT MY CHANCES. IN FACT, THEY DOUBTED IT WOULD HAPPEN. THEY DIDN"T SHARE THAT TILL AFTERWARDS.
MY CASE CHANGED SENTENCING IN SC SUPERIOR COURT THREE YEARS AGO.
SINCE THEN, NO ONE IS SENT TO STATE PRISON FOR CANNABIS IN SC COUNTY. WHILE I"M GLAD ABOUT THAT, I WISH IT HADN"T BEEN ME.
I DID LOSE SO SO MUCH ALONG THE WAY. BUT I WAS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE WHO WAS NOT REALLY A "CRIMINAL" AND WAS NOT WHO "PRISON" WAS FOR. I GET TO TRY AND REBUILD MY LIFE NOW WITHOUT FEAR OF VIOLATING.
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Comment #3 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on July 29, 2010 at 22:02:54 PT
Right On tintala!
Let's substitute "health care" for "marijuana" and "public" for "voters" and change the "was"es to "is"es -"There's people who are in the health care business strictly to make a profit and not what is portrayed to the public, which is care for very sick and imminently dying people," says Sinsemilla Jones, assistant special agent in charge of calling BS on the field divisions of the DEA (as aren't we all).There, that's much more accurate.
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on July 29, 2010 at 18:11:11 PT
govt. efficiency
"The Drug Enforcement Administration reviewed requirements under a new state law to see how many felons could be forced out of business. The DEA estimates that up to 18 percent of current dispensaries may be shuttered by the no-felon rule. "Excellent! Wipe out as many jobs as you can! Just what we need right now.Add a couple more zeros to the deficit, might as well bankrupt the country in style, right?
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Comment #1 posted by tintala on July 29, 2010 at 16:53:55 PT:
People were out to make $$
"There's people who are in the marijuana business strictly to make a profit and not what was portrayed to the voters, which was care for very sick and imminently dying people," said Kevin Merrill, assistant special agent in charge for the Denver field division of the DEA." And so what? So do pharmacies, doctors, pharmaceautical companies, make billions upon billions.
So this makes no sense, so a sick person isn't supposed to want to make money?
[ Post Comment ]
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