Denver council struggling with rec. weed

[BOMBAYCAT]

Denver Post8/19/2013

On Momday the Ammendment 64 committee (Denver) meets making decisions on recreational weed rules (39 rules!) for the new industry. Later the full city council discusses whether to tax weed at 5%. Any new tax or increase of a tax in Colorado needs to pass a vote of the people. One councilman is suggesting a 3.5% tax which seems more reasonable to me. Another councilman wants 2500 foot buffer which would only allow shops near the airport (very far) and a couple isolated areas near the city border. I think that is too extreme for the council to swallow. So far the council has plowed through 15 of the 39 decisions. One interesting decision is if MMJ shops will have to put a wall down the middle of the shop and install 2 doors.

 

[Puscifer]

And yet here we are in Florida getting mandatory minimum sentences for anything over 24 plants...

 

[floralheart]

They might as well make the tax 1%, because it's probably going to go through the roof anyway, eventually. Federal taxes started around 1% and ended up at about 80% within a decade. Just saying.

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

The latest is they seem to be a bit practical. They decided the city sales tax should be
3.5%, and you are correct they can raise it by a city council vote. Also they are bringing down the buffer zone to a standard 1000 feet. A radical member of council wanted 2500 feet which would have excluded most of the city. More to come as this is getting interesting.

 

[elkie]

what do you mean by buffer zone ?

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

The number of feet between a school for instance and a dispensary. A couple years ago the feds made some MMJ dispensaries close because the state measured down the sidewalk and the feds measured through the yards and thus made the distance shorter. Also the state "grandfathered in" some preexisting MMJ dispensaries that were too close and the feds didn't like it and made them close.

It's getting interesting now. Denver is considering to let only MMJ dispensaries sell Recreational weed for a while, but one councilman wants a new wall right down the middle of the dispensary and new doors to make the Recreational seperate from the MMJ. Another councilman doesn't want that as he says it is impractical.

Anyway Recreational weed must go on sale on Jan. 1st no matter if they are still screwing around with the rules. I don't know if anything can stop that which is a good thing.

 

[TerpeneDream]

I wish they'd worry more about quality and health control rather than how much tax $ they could bring in :/

Most of this 'medical' marijuana being sold in shops in far from medicine...

Clearly the "medical' aspect wasn't all that important!

 

[Jhhnn]

The number of feet between a school for instance and a dispensary. A couple years ago the feds made some MMJ dispensaries close because the state measured down the sidewalk and the feds measured through the yards and thus made the distance shorter. Also the state "grandfathered in" some preexisting MMJ dispensaries that were too close and the feds didn't like it and made them close.

It's getting interesting now. Denver is considering to let only MMJ dispensaries sell Recreational weed for a while, but one councilman wants a new wall right down the middle of the dispensary and new doors to make the Recreational seperate from the MMJ. Another councilman doesn't want that as he says it is impractical.

Anyway Recreational weed must go on sale on Jan. 1st no matter if they are still screwing around with the rules. I don't know if anything can stop that which is a good thing.

The whole thing about splitting establishments is just an unreasonable attempt to raise the price of entry into the retail market & reduce the number of outlets.

The product & the price are the same either way, with the only difference being taxes. Just show your red card for a lower tax rate, much the same as people do for their resale tax break.

Only dispensary owners qualify for retail in 2014. It was part of the price of getting them on the side of legalization, unlike in California where dispensary owners banded together with prohibitionists to help defeat legalization.

Right after that, the DEA started reminding dispensary owners to be careful of the friends you make, because they might turn on you.

Karma can be a bitch.

 

[wantaknow]

the more they regulate the more back door deals will be done ,

 

[MrCopyZ]

Are they gonna sell to people on vacation in the great state?

 

[Jhhnn]

Are they gonna sell to people on vacation in the great state?

Of course- quarter ounce at a time of whatever you want- bud, hash, or extracts.

Just don't take it to the airport, OK?

 

[Harry Lime]

Can someone please explain what the two doors and a wall down the middle thing is all about? Is it for shops that sell things other than mj so as to folks buying their eggs won't get contaminated by it?

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

Hi Harry: The rule was proposed for MMJ dispensaries so they could seperate the shop by having a wall down the middle and 2 doors. The idea was to seperate the MMJ dispensary from the recreational side in Denver city only. They shot that idea down in Denver but the only shops for 2 years starting on January 1 will be the existing MMJ dispensaries in Denver city only. It is fun to watch them screw around trying to make up rules but on Jan 1st you can buy recreational weed no matter if they are not done screwing around with the rules. Some cities are opting out of recreational sales but it is still legal to have recreational weed in those areas. My favorite MMJ dispensary is waiting a bit to see what the rules end up before they spend a lot of money on it.

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

I am going to keep my MMJ card for a while at least. The thing that worries me is that quality will go down if there is a large recreational demand. The laws are set up for "vertical integration" which means the dispensaries are allowed to sell only what they grow. I think they are allowed to buy 15% from other sources. I know socially the people in my favorite dispensary and they had a hic-up with their soilless mix when they didn't ammend it right and tried to reuse it. Quality and selection went down for 1 cycle. I think the MMJ shops are running pretty tight and won't be able to expand for a cycle or two. Does a monopoly bother other people? At least I grow most of my meds and the quality is better sometimes.

 

[great brozini]

The ski industry says thank you

 

[ICbuds]

If Cali follows suit with recreational use it's going to be high tide on the coast. Lots of tourism opportunities with some of the best genetics on the planet

 

[Jhhnn]

Can someone please explain what the two doors and a wall down the middle thing is all about? Is it for shops that sell things other than mj so as to folks buying their eggs won't get contaminated by it?

It's because they're trying to implement conflicting rules for medical vs recreational. There are still some die-hards trying to thwart retail, and there's likely also some subterfuge by the biggies, who can afford to play the game, put capital up front.

It's stupid, of course. One set of rules for growers, one set of rules for sellers, one licensing regime is the answer. Buyers who show their med card just pay lower taxes. Shops are free to grow or buy product from licensed growers as they choose. Shops sell whatever they have to anybody of age who comes through the door, with the 1/4 oz restriction on out of state buyers.

Far too easy, I'm sure.

 

[BOESELAGER]

Colorado and Washington State voters said it when they voted to legalize Cannabis, thank god! These two states will be the testing ground as far as laws and regulation that they will put into play. As the laws are passed in other states to legalize Cannabis, the rest of the states will basically adopt what they have enacted, then put there won tweaks to it. The states really only care about the bottom line, "THE MONEY" however they are trying to think of every possible scenario to please the public. I personally think if they don't watch what they are doing with all the strict regulation and placing high ass taxes on the product, they will price there selves out of the Market, then everything will go back under ground. Good for us but bad for the state!

 

[Harry Lime]

Thanks Bombay Cat and Jhhnn.

Though there's little hope of any change in prohibition here in the UK, many of us this side of the pond are watching with interest.