Growing Pains

C

Growing PainsAn examination of Colorado’s booming medical marijuana industry

An industry ignitesColorado’s medical marijuana indus-

try took off in 2009, adding more than 100,000 patients and hundreds of retail stores.

Supporters say the business is legiti-mate, the fastest growing in the state and one that will create jobs and generate tax revenue for Colorado. Opponents say the industry’s rapid growth has led to abuse and fraud, question the treat-ment method and express concerns about the effects on communities.

New legislation was enacted to regu-

late the medicine and business aspects of medical marijuana, a model that is setting the standard for other states across the country.

The Steamboat Pilot & Today explores the industry, from the first seeds through its cultivation, in a three-part series ending Friday.

StorieS by Jack WeinStein

John F. Russell/staFF

A three-part series by the Steamboat Pilot & Today Part 1, October 6, 2010

Part 1: Seeds of controversy TodayIt took nine years for Colorado’s medical marijuana industry to take off after Amendment 20. Some worry it’s now out of control.

Part 2: Green rush ThursdayMedical marijuana has become the basis for lucrative businesses, and entrepreneurs are not the only ones who could cash in.

Part 3: Blazing the trail FridayMunicipalities across the state have been forced to weigh in on the marijuana debate. The months ahead will shape the industry.

2 | Growing Pains: Part 1 Wednesday, October 6, 2010 Steamboat Pilot & Today

Kara Rosen is among the more than 100,000 Colorado residents who

have become legal users of mari-juana since 2009.

The 32-year-old Hayden resi-dent and cancer survivor has used medical marijuana every day for about a year. It’s the only remedy she’s found to treat pain, digestion problems, nausea, loss of appetite and insomnia.

“I had lung cancer,” said Rosen, who owns Air tech Heat-ing & Sheet Metal with her hus-band, Shelby. “I had it surgically removed. I have to deal with the pain just like other people deal with pain. I just do it in a different way. And it’s not a bad way.”

Medical marijuana became legal in Colorado, for patients with certain conditions and a doc-

tor’s recommendation, after nearly 54 percent of voters approved Amendment 20 in 2000.

Nearly a decade later, Rosen is happy she had that option when confronting her post-cancer pain.

But Rosen’s story isn’t typical. The majority of Coloradans who use medical marijuana do so to treat severe pain, not the effects of cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and the other preapproved conditions.

For every Rosen, there are many more like Kip Strean.

Although Strean said he uses medical marijuana to relieve chronic back and shoulder pain, as well as insomnia, the 59-year-old also said he’s been smoking marijuana for about 40 years.

Strean, a musician who has lived in Steamboat Springs since 2000, was a child of the 1960s.

He said marijuana is part of his culture. After a spring 2009 visit to Amsterdam, known in part for its legalization of marijuana, he applied for a state-issued medical marijuana registry card.

“I decided to get the card because I was tired of feeling like I was doing anything illegal any-more,” he said. “I mean, come on, the acceptance of it today is so much different than it was in the ’60s.”

In the nine years after it was added to the state constitution, medical marijuana mostly flew under the radar in Colorado. But a sequence of events starting in 2009 triggered what has become an emerging industry, changing the business and social landscape in Colorado while creating a model for the rest of the country.

Seeds of controversyColorado scrambles to manage an industry some say is rife with abuse


Kara Rosen eats cookies and muffins containing marijuana to help relieve chronic pain and other ailments she’s experienced since doctors removed a carcinoid tumor from her left lung. Rosen, a hayden resident, is part of a new wave of patients who have turned to marijuana after they say more traditional medications failed to help them.


steamboat springs resident and medical marijuana user Kip strean uses the drug to treat back and shoulder pain and to relieve insomnia. strean said he discovered the benefits of smoking marijuana more than 40 years ago.

Taking rootSome lawmakers, law enforce-

ment officers, state officials and medical professionals said a surge is taking place in the industry, which was largely unregulated and rife with abuse before legislation took effect July 1.

The biggest problem, they say, is approved medical marijuana users defrauding the system to smoke pot recreationally.

“Anybody who doesn’t think there’s abuse going on has to be pretty naïve. We don’t have 108,000 people with debilitating medical conditions,” Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said in August, referring to an earlier estimate of the number of approved medical marijuana card-holders.

Some Routt County dispensary owners acknowledge the willing-ness of some to take advantage of the system.

“I would say over 50 percent of cardholders use recreationally — a lot for pain management or as a stress reducer,” said Chris Ward, whose Milner medical marijuana center has a Hawaiian theme to reflect his upbringing on the island of Kauai.

A ‘perfect storm’Colorado is one of 14 states

with legislation making the use of medical marijuana legal. California came first in 1996. Earlier this year, Washington, D.C., approved it.

After Colorado voters approved Amendment 20, the state’s constitution was amended to allow the use of medical mari-juana for eight debilitating condi-tions: cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, cachexia (physical wasting away though weight loss and mus-cle atrophy), severe pain, severe nausea, seizures and persistent muscle spasms.

Several events last year created what Ned Calonge, the state’s chief medical officer, called a “per-fect storm” for medical marijuana in Colorado.

First, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in March 2009 that federal raids of medical mari-juana dispensaries would stop. Then, the Colorado Board of Health chose not to impose a limit on the number of patients a medi-cal marijuana provider, called a caregiver, could have. And finally, the U.S. Justice De part ment sent a memo to prosecutors in October 2009 instructing them to not use federal resources against people in compliance with state medical marijuana laws.

The industry quickly took off. There were 4,720 Colorado card-holders by the end of 2008. As of Aug. 31, that number had swelled to an estimated 113,000, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The agency is charged with over-seeing the state’s Med ical Mari -

juana Reg istry. The estimate is based on the volume of applica-tions the registry receives.

Coinciding with the exploding number of approved marijuana users, state officials once estimated that 1,100 medical marijuana centers operated in the state. A stretch of South Broadway Street in Denver, for example, is referred to as “The Green Mile” or “Broadsterdam” for the many medical marijuana centers there, some next door to or across the street from each other.

“We never imagined that the surge would be so high or would be sustained for so many months,” Calonge said in a telephone inter-view. “All these elements came

together and gave birth to this industry.”

Routt County, with a popula-tion of 23,500, has five medical marijuana centers — a sixth in Yampa has closed. Steamboat, with more than 12,000 residents, is home to three of them. The num-ber of pharmacies in the county outnumbers medical marijuana centers by one.

Registry overwhelmedIn a Colorado Department of

Public Health and Environ ment office building in Denver, U.S. Postal Service boxes sit stacked on shelves in the new mailroom of the Office of Vital Statistics Medical Marijuana Registry.

14 states and D.C. have enacted laws that legalize medical marijuana:Year passed; percentage yes votes or House, Senate vote; possession limit■ Alaska1998; 58 percent; 1 ounce, 6 plants■ California1996; 56 percent; 8 ounces, 18 plants■ Colorado2000; 54 percent; 2 ounces, 6 plants■ D.C.2010; 13-0 Council; 2 ounces■ Hawaii2000; 32-18 House, 13-12 Senate; 3 ounces, 7 plants■ Maine1999; 61 percent; 2.5 ounces, 6 plants■ Michigan2008; 63 percent; 2.5 ounces, 12 plants■ Montana2004; 62 percent; 1 ounce, 6 plants■ Nevada2000; 65 percent; 1 ounce, 7 plants■ New Jersey2010; 48-14 House, 25-13 Senate; 2 ounces■ New Mexico2007; 36-31 House, 32-3 Senate; 6 ounces, 16 plants ■ Oregon1998; 55 percent; 24 ounces, 24 plants■ Rhode Island2006; 52-10 House, 33-1 Senate; 2.5 ounces, 12 plants■ Vermont2004; 22-7 Senate, 82-59 House; 2 ounces, 9 plants ■ Washington1998; 59 percent; 24 ounces, 15 plants

On the booksMedical marijuana legislation by state

Colo.

N.M.

Texas

Ariz.

UtahNev.

Calif. Kan.

Neb.

S.D.

N.D.

Okla.

Wyo.

Mont.

Idaho

Ore.

Wash.

Alaska

Hawaii

Minn.

Iowa

Mo.

Ark.

La.

Wis.

Ill. Ind.

Mich.

Ky.

Tenn.

Miss.

N.C.

S.C.

Ga.

Fla.

Ala.

Ohio

W. Va. Va.

Pa.

N.Y.

Del.N.J.

R.I.

Md.

Conn.

Mass.

Maine

Vt.

N.H.

KeyStates with medical marijuana laws on the books

States that considered laws in 2010 or plan to in 2011States that haven’t addressed medical marijuana

nicole MilleR/staFF

Sources: www.procon.org, www.norml.org, The Associated Press

Matt stensland/staFF

colorado attorney General John suthers discusses state medical marijuana legislation in his office in denver. suthers says there isn’t much integrity to the process of determining debilitating medical conditions in the rapidly growing industry.

Senate Bill 109 was created to regu-late the medical side of Colorado’s medical marijuana industry. ■ Physicians and patients are required to have a bona fide relationship.■ Physicians are required to have a valid, unrestricted license to practice medicine in Colorado and a valid, unrestricted U.S. Department of Justice Federal Drug Enforcement Adminis tra-tion controlled substances registration.■ Physicians are precluded from accept-ing or soliciting money from caregiv-ers or centers, providing discounts to patients who agree to use a particular caregiver or center, examining patients at centers or having an economic interest in a business that sells medical marijuana.

■ The Colorado Department of Health and Environment is permitted to create rules for the medical marijuana pro-gram, including consideration of adding debilitating medical conditions to the state constitution and allowing patients to claim indigence.■ The medical marijuana cash fund, generated by application fees, can be used only to operate the medical mari-juana program and shouldn’t be trans-ferred to any other state fund. ■ The Colorado Board of Medical Examiners may review and investigate physicians it has a reasonable cause to believe violated the medical marijuana program.

Source: Colorado Revised Statutes

Colorado Senate Bill 109 highlights

Steamboat Pilot & Today Growing Pains: Part 1 Wednesday, October 6, 2010 | 3


Federal and Colorado medical marijuana timeline

1937The U.S. Congress

passes the Marihuana Tax Act making it

illegal to possess or transfer cannabis,

except for medical or industrial uses, which

were subject to an excise tax.

1968The National

Institute of Drug Abuse partners

with the University of Mississippi to

grow marijuana for research purposes, a program that still

exists.

1970Congress passes

the U.S. Controlled Substances Act,

which replaces the Marihuana Tax Act

and classifies marijuana as a

Schedule 1 controlled substance.

1975The Colorado General Assembly decreases

the penalty for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana.

1978The U.S.

government creates a research program, which allows some patients to receive

marijuana for medical purposes. The

program was shut down in 1992.

1996California becomes

the first state to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes

when nearly 56 percent of voters

approve Proposition 215.

1998Former Colorado Secretary of State

Vikki Buckley doesn’t count votes from Amendment 19, a

marijuana legalization measure, because

she says proponents didn’t collect enough signatures to put it on

the ballot.

2000Colorado voters

approve Amendment 20, making the medical use of

marijuana legal for patients with certain

conditions and a recommendation

from a doctor. Nearly 54 percent of voters

approve the measure.

2001The Colorado

Department of Health and Environment

creates the Medical Marijuana Registry,

which issues cards to patients approved to

use medical marijuana.

2004The Colorado Board of Health limits to five the number of patients a medical

marijuana caregiver can have.

2005With 54 percent of the vote, Denver

residents approve a measure making it legal for adults to possess as much as

1 ounce of marijuana.

2006Colorado voters reject a ballot initiative that would have allowed adults to possess as much as 1 ounce of

marijuana.

Ron Hyman, the Colorado registrar and director of the Medical Marijuana Registry office in Denver, estimated in August that more than 30,000 medical marijuana card applications sat unopened in those boxes. Another batch of applications — an addi-tional 30,000 or more — had just been sent for data entry to Integrated Doc ument Solutions in Pueblo, part of Colo rado’s Depart ment of Person nel and Admin istration.

Hyman said those applica-tions were opened and each $90 application fee was deposited. But because the applications haven’t been processed, medical marijuana registry cards haven’t been issued.

“I believe today we are mail-ing out cards for applications we received in early January,” he said Aug. 20.

The lack of cards doesn’t prevent users from being able to possess and smoke marijuana or use marijuana products. Patients use copies of the notarized appli-cation, physician authorization, photo identification and registered mail receipt as their temporary medical marijuana cards. The permanent cards — pieces of white paper outlined in red that resemble a sales tax license — take as long as nine months to process. Cardholders must renew their licenses every year.

The Office of Vital Statistics receives about 1,000 pieces of medical-marijuana-related mail daily, of which about 500 appli-cations are approved, about 250 are incomplete and returned and about 250 are information changes for people already on the registry. Hyman said the volume of mail overwhelmed the office’s mail-room. So the Medical Marijuana Registry got its own.

The office also processes birth and death certificates and mar-riage licenses. Hyman estimated that “well over 80 percent” of his

job was dedicated solely to the Medical Marijuana Registry dur-ing the past year.

Thousands of other pieces of unopened mail from patients on the registry wanting to update information won’t be processed until after Hyman’s staff catches up on the application backlog. He’s been given the go-ahead to triple his staff, to 33 employees, after a supplemental budget request he made in June was approved.

“In 2008, the entire year, I had 5,000 patients,” Hyman said. “Now I get that in a week. One person could easily handle the registry on their own from start to finish” in 2008.

A chronic debateDr. Brian Harrington, a physi-

cian with Yampa Valley Medical Associates in Steamboat, says the abuse and misuse of medical mari-juana undermines the legitimacy and reasons for it.

Because of the medical mari-juana registry backlog, only 41,039 patients — 292 in Routt County — are listed as being approved for medical marijuana as of Dec. 31, 2009, in the statistics section of the registry website. Of those patients, 92 percent cite severe pain for at least one qualifying debilitating condition. Patients can list more than one.

Muscle spasms, cited on 29 percent of applications, are the second most frequently reported condition. Cancer accounts for 2 percent, and glaucoma and HIV/AIDS were cited on 1 percent of applications.

Harrington said he has never recommended medical marijuana but has discussed it with patients because he recognizes that it could have medical value for the right person. He also said the severe pain condition has opened the door for recreational users.


Medical marijuana patient Kip strean examines what’s available at steamboat’s Rocky Mountain Remedies. Patients can go to medical marijuana centers and pick out a specific type of marijuana. strean says different types of marijuana help different ailments.


2007A Denver district judge rules that

the state Board of Health’s rule allowing a medical marijuana caregiver to provide for only five patients

didn’t include public input, thus

overturning the rule.

March 2009The Obama

administration announces a policy change to end raids

on medical marijuana dispensaries.

July 2009The Colorado Board of Health considers reinstating the rule

allowing caregivers to provide for only five patients but opts not

to impose a limit.

October 2009The U.S. Department

of Justice issues a memo to federal

prosecutors instructing them not to use federal resources to prosecute people who are complying with state medical marijuana laws.

November 2009With 71 percent of

the vote, residents of Breckenridge approve a ballot measure that

allows adults to possess as much as

1 ounce of marijuana.

April 2010With more than 54 percent of the vote, Nederland residents approve a measure

removing all criminal penalties against

buying, possessing, growing, consuming, selling or transporting marijuana for anyone

21 or older.

May 2010Colorado legislators approve Senate Bill 109 to regulate the medical side of the medical marijuana industry. They also approve House Bill

1284, which regulates the business side of

the industry.

June 2010Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signs Senate Bill 109 and House Bill 1284 into law.

July 1, 2010Colorado’s new

medical marijuana laws take effect.

Aug. 1, 2010By its application

deadline, the Colorado Department of Revenue receives applications from

309 infused-product makers, 809 medical marijuana centers and

1,219 growers, collecting more than

$8 million in fees.

Aug. 27, 2010The Colorado Department of

Revenue releases 92 pages of draft rules

after the first meeting of a workgroup of medical marijuana

stakeholders to help create rules to

regulate the industry.

Sept. 1, 2010Colorado’s medical marijuana centers

are required to certify that they grow 70

percent of the marijuana they sell.

Federal and Colorado medical marijuana timeline

“Heroin takes care of pain,” he said while sitting in an exam room at his office. “Just to say marijua-na takes care of pain is not a good argument.”

Brian Vicente, executive direc-tor of Sensible Colorado, an advocate for the state’s medical marijuana patients, disagrees that a majority of patients are citing severe pain simply as an excuse to use marijuana recreationally.

“There’s a lot of people in an active state like Colorado that suf-fer from chronic pain related to biking injuries, skiing injuries,” he said in August at his Denver office. “If they and their doctor feel it’s better to use marijuana than hydrocodone or OxyContin as a better treatment regimen, I think we have to respect that.”

Registered nurse Shannon Wine garner, the director of hos-pice and palliative care for the North west Colorado Visiting Nurse Asso ciation, said her organization supports the use of medical marijuana for its end-of-life patients because it is a legal medication defined by the state constitution.

“In my experience working with terminally ill patients, I have definitely seen people using mari-juana to effectively manage symp-toms that were not managed by other treatments,” she said about patients suffering from nausea, anxiety and weight loss.

“Our primary goal in hospice is to manage comfort — quality of life versus quantity of life. We don’t discriminate on the choice of medications.”

Determining legitimacyHyman, who runs the Medical

Marijuana Registry, doesn’t think all patients approved for medical marijuana have legitimate medi-cal needs. But in the decade he’s run the program, Hyman said he’s spoken with many patients who

have said medical marijuana has had a tremendous impact on their lives.

“For these individuals, it’s imperative we maintain the integ-rity of the program and reduce abuses,” he said. “If the public loses confidence, it hurts the integrity of the program. I think it’s imperative we have this avenue available for patients who need it.”

That so many have been approved to use medical marijua-na indicates the industry is grow-ing, Attorney General Suthers said, but he added that there’s not much integrity to the process of determining debilitating conditions.

“About 75 percent of the patients are males,” he said. “The average age (currently 40) is drop-ping precipitously. I would predict to you in a couple years the aver-age age of a patient will be 24, 25, something like that.”

Harrington said he doesn’t know any local physicians who are providing medical marijuana rec-ommendations for their patients. But doctors who will offer recom-mendations aren’t hard to find. Boulder osteopath Lisa R. Rittel travels weekly to Steamboat to see patients from a hotel room for a $130 consultation fee, said Dan Pullen, who schedules the appoint-ments for her. Through Pullen, Rittel declined to comment for this story. Newspaper and online advertisements in Steamboat and other cities across the state tout “same day” doctor appointments for those seeking a medical mari-juana recommendation.

Charish Adams, a Hayden resident, saw a physician in Silverthorne to secure her recom-mendation for medical marijuana. Adams, 30, said she began using marijuana to treat a back injury suffered in May while moving furniture. The medications doc-tors prescribed were ineffective. It’s not that they didn’t work; Adams couldn’t keep them down.


Medical marijuana patient Kip strean examines what’s available at steamboat’s Rocky Mountain Remedies. Patients can go to medical marijuana centers and pick out a specific type of marijuana. strean says different types of marijuana help different ailments.


She was diagnosed in 2009 with gastroesophageal reflux dis-ease, or chronic acid reflux dis-ease, after vomiting nearly every morning for 10 years. Adams, the mother of a 10-year-old boy, joked that during that time, she constantly thought she was preg-nant.

Knowing she couldn’t take pills — she couldn’t even keep Advil down — Adams first vis-ited a chiropractor and acupunc-turist to relieve her back pain.

Nothing worked, she said. Having used marijuana in the past, Adams thought she would give it a try. In June, she went to Mary’s, a medical marijuana center in Oak Creek.

Through her visits to Mary’s, she discovered tinctures — an alcohol- or glycerin-based liq-uid extract typically made from dried marijuana — and started taking an eyedropper full about once a week for her acid reflux. She hasn’t vomited since June.

“What it does is it stops the acid, it settles my stomach and doesn’t allow it to come back up,” Adams said. “I’d recom-mend it to anybody with nausea problems, headaches, usually anything that goes with being sick.”

Medicine vs. drugHarrington, the Steamboat

physician, struggles with the idea of marijuana as medicine. It’s listed as a Schedule 1 controlled substance by the federal govern-ment.

Under the Controlled Sub-stances Act, marijuana is catego-rized with drugs including heroin and LSD. The Act states that Schedule 1 controlled substances have a high potential for abuse and have no “currently accepted medical use” in treatments in the United States.

Harrington said there’s a con-flict between the medicinal value of marijuana and its health risks if it’s smoked, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never approved as a medical delivery method.

He says marijuana is habit-forming, has been linked to respi-ratory problems if smoked and can cause a decline in cognitive function and increase anxiety.

“I do think the health benefits of marijuana are well-over-played,” he said.

But Harrington acknowledged that ingesting marijuana, if used as a medicine, makes more sense than smoking it. He mentioned Marinol, an FDA-approved pill form of synthetic delta-9-tetrahy-drocannabinol, or THC, thought to be the active ingredient in marijuana.

After surgery for her lung cancer, Kara Rosen experienced pain from the muscles doctors sliced through and ribs they fractured to get to her lung. The

medications her doctors pre-scribed contributed to or exac-erbated her digestion problems, nausea, loss of appetite and insomnia.

She got a recommendation from a Denver doctor and was approved for a medical marijuana card. She found that medical marijuana was the only thing that worked for her pain and other post-cancer ailments. But she rarely smokes it. Instead, she drinks teas or eats cookies infused with marijuana.

Infused products, a burgeon-ing portion of the state’s medical marijuana industry, are becom-ing more common and popular

among patients, center owners said.

At 61, Jacob Wise, who owns Mary’s in Oak Creek, calls him-self an old hippie. He is a civil engineer by trade, lost millions as a real estate developer when the industry went south and has counseled cocaine addicts as a minister certified in three reli-gions. Owning a medical marijua-na center was another venture.

When he opened his business, Wise said, he thought the indus-try was a scam, a way for recre-ational users to smoke legally. But the 42-year recreational and medical marijuana user said he’s seen improvement in his patients.

Wise is pushing tinctures, which he makes, for patients like Charish Adams. He also treats seven cancer patients with them.

“I’m going after the tincture business because I see it more as a medical application,” he said.

“The other business is bigger right now, but eventually tinctures will be more popular. Tinctures don’t give the euphoric feeling. People smoke pot for the rose glass syndrome — ‘I feel good. Everything’s purty.’”

By the numbersColorado medical marijuana card application history

nicole MilleR/staFF

113,000 patients are estimated to be on Colorado’s medical marijuana registry as of Aug. 31, 2010.*Numbers for December 2009 are estimates.

■ 43,769 new patient applications have been received since the registry began operating in June 2001. Thirty-nine applications have been denied, 28 cards have been revoked, 298 patients have died, and 2,365 cards have expired, bringing the number of patients with valid registry cards to 41,039.■ 74 percent of approved applicants are men.■ The average age of patients is 40. ■ 17 patients are younger than 18.■ 59 percent of patients reside in the Denver metro area.■ Severe pain accounts for 92 percent of reported qualifying conditions. Muscle spasms are second at 29 percent. Patients can list more than one condition.■ 68 percent of patients have designat-ed a primary caregiver who manages the care of that patient.■ More than 1,000 physicians have signed for medical marijuana patients in Colorado.*All figures current as of Dec. 31, 2009.

Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

State registry statistics*State cardholders

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009*

512 730 1,040 1,955

4,720

41,039


Medical marijuana patient emily anderson, a steamboat springs resident, uses marijuana to treat pain from a congenital heart block — she’s on her third pacemaker — and five knee surgeries related to her college volleyball career. anderson said marijuana allows her to treat the pain without the side effects of prescribed pain relievers.


Jacob Wise, who owns Mary’s, a medical marijuana center in oak creek, talks about the medical benefits of marijuana. Wise says he is pursuing tinctures because he thinks they have more of a medical application than smoking marijuana does.


Regulating the medicineCalonge, the state’s chief

medical officer, said the rapid growth of medical marijuana in Colorado led to fraudulent, substandard care from doctors who charged fees to sign medi-cal marijuana recommendations for patients they saw via webcam or met at a medical marijuana center.

He called those evaluations and that care “recreational use mas-querading as a medical program.”

In the spring, Colorado law-makers began discussing two pieces of legislation aimed at governing the industry for the first time. Senate Bill 109 was created to regulate the medical side of the industry and, among other provisions, precludes doctors from having any financial relationships with medical marijuana centers.

House Bill 1284 was created to regulate the business side of the medical marijuana industry. Among its many provisions, it forces medical marijuana center owners to undergo criminal back-ground checks and forbids their ownership if they’ve been convict-ed of a drug-related felony.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed both pieces of legislation into law in June. They took effect July 1.

Calonge said Senate Bill 109 was intended to reduce some of the fraudulent actions by doctors that had become commonplace.

“I believe if we’re going to call

it medical marijuana, we have to hold it to the same standards as all medical care,” he said.

“We believe (Senate Bill 109) is the first step to really put it back in the medical realm from the recreational-use realm and, we believe, more in line with what people voted when they voted for Amendment 20.”

House Bill 1284 has been called a significant piece of legislation that could become a model for the rest of the country.

Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado, who is not a medical marijuana cardholder (“I don’t have a qualifying condition,” he said.) called House Bill 1284 a landmark piece of legislation. He

said it was a major step forward in legitimizing centers as safe access facilities for medical marijuana. But Vicente said the legislation has issues that he hopes to work through with legislators this ses-sion.

Despite the concerns, he said Colorado’s medical marijuana has become a legitimate business in the past year.

“We do have a constitutional amendment and a state law in the Colorado Revised Statutes that regulate this industry,” Vicente said. “I think it is legitimate, and I think it’s going to continue being one of the few growing areas of our economy, at least for the immediate future.”

Fan leavesThe big leaves with as many as 13 leaflets are what most recognize as the universal image of marijuana. With the lowest concentration of THC, they are typically tossed after being trimmed from the plant.

Sugar leavesThe smaller leaves with a high concentration of THC are used to make edibles after being trimmed, dried and cured.

Anatomy of a marijuana plant

StemAfter everything is trimmed from it, the stem can be used as an additive for tinctures.

TrichomesThe tiny crystals that form on the bud and leaves determine when the growing cycle is complete. They also can indicate whether a plant has a high concentration of THC.

Source: Kevin Fisher, Rocky Mountain Remedies

nicole MilleR/staFF

BudThe part of the plant with the highest concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol and other cannabinoids is the bud. This is what users typically smoke. It also can be used to make edibles and tinctures after being trimmed, dried and cured.


Ron hyman, the state registrar and director of the office of Vital statistics Medical Marijuana Registry, estimates that applications from January are just now being processed.

Marijuana debate blazes onThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not studied marijuana because it is an illegal drug at the federal level. Across the country, the medical marijuana debate rages between ardent critics and supporters.

Marijuana is an addictive drug. In 1999, more than 200,000 Americans entered substance abuse treatment pri-marily for marijuana abuse and depen-dence. More teens are in treatment for marijuana use than for any other drug, including alcohol. Adolescent admis-sions to substance abuse facilities for marijuana grew from 43 percent of all adolescent admissions in 1994 to 60 percent in 1999.

Source: www.justice.gov/dea

Long-term studies of students who use drugs show that very few young people use other illegal drugs without first trying marijuana. While not all people who use marijuana go on to use other drugs, using marijuana some-times lowers inhibitions about drug use and exposes users to a culture that encourages use of other drugs. The risk of using cocaine has been estimated to be more than 104 times greater for those who have tried marijuana than for those who have never tried it.


Marijuana affects many skills required for safe driving. In 1990, the National Transportation Safety Board found that just as many fatal accidents were caused by drivers using marijuana as were caused by alcohol.


A large percentage of those arrested for crimes test positive for marijuana. Nationwide, 40 percent of adult males test positive for marijuana at the time of their arrests.


Lung healthAccording to the National Institutes

of Health, studies show that some-one who smokes five joints a week may take in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day. Smoking one marijuana cigarette deposits about four times more tar into lungs than a filtered tobacco cigarette.


Immune system healthSmoking marijuana weakens the

immune system. A Columbia University study found that those who smoked one marijuana cigarette every other day for a year had a white-blood-cell count that was 39 percent lower than normal.


Heart healthHarvard University researchers

report that the risk of a heart attack is five times higher than usual in the hour after smoking marijuana.


Marijuana critics Marijuana supporters

Data demonstrate that the reinforc-ing properties of marijuana are low in comparison to other drugs, including alcohol and nicotine. According to the U.S. Institute of Medicine, fewer than one in 10 marijuana smokers become regular users, and most cease their use after age 34. By comparison, 15 percent of alcohol consumers and 32 percent of tobacco smokers exhibit symptoms of dependence.

Source: www.norml.org

There is no conclusive evidence that the effects of marijuana are caus-ally linked to the subsequent use of other illicit drugs. For every 104 Americans who have tried marijuana, there is only one regular user of cocaine and less than one user of heroin. For marijuana smokers who do graduate to harder substances, it is marijuana prohibition — which forces users to associate with the drug black market — that often serves as a door-way to the world of hard drugs.


As with alcohol consumption, it must never be an excuse for miscon-duct or other bad behavior. Driving or operating heavy equipment while impaired by marijuana should be prohibited.


Marijuana does not cause crime. The majority of marijuana users do not commit crimes other than pos-sessing marijuana. Most studies show that marijuana decreases aggression.

Source: www.drugpolicy.org

Lung healthLike tobacco smoke, marijuana

smoke contains a number of irritants and carcinogens, but marijuana users typically smoke much less often than tobacco users. In a study presented to the American Thoracic Society in 2006, even heavy users of marijuana were found not to have any increased risk of lung cancer.


Immune system healthThere is no evidence that marijuana

users are more susceptible to infec-tions than nonusers. Even among people with existing immune disor-ders, marijuana use appears to be relatively safe.


Heart healthThere is no evidence that marijuana

use causes persisting hypertension or heart disease. Some say it helps con-trol hypertension by reducing stress.

www.lycaeum.org

Addiction

Gateway drug

Driving under the influence of drugs

Crime

Health


Reporting: Jack Weinstein; Photography: Matt Stensland and John F. Russell; Design and graphics: Nicole Miller; Editing: Brent Boyer and Blythe Terrell

In the fast-evolving world of medical marijuana, a doc-tor’s recommendation might

protect you from law enforcement, but it won’t protect you at work.

Many of Steamboat Springs’ larger employers don’t have poli-cies related specifically to medical marijuana. And many of them said they’ve yet to deal with issues related to employees who have been authorized by the state to use marijuana for medicinal purposes.

That is true for the city of Steam boat Springs, Human Resources Director John Thrasher said. Because of the city’s existing drug and alcohol policy, which prohibits substance abuse, he said Steamboat may not have to.

“It really is sort of an oddball one because it’s not an over-the-counter medication,” Thrasher said about medical marijuana. “It’s not prescribed by doctors. Under federal law, it’s a controlled substance and according to that, if being abused, you can’t come to work doing that.”

Colorado voters approved Amendment 20 in 2000, making the use of medical marijuana legal for patients with certain condi-tions and a doctor’s recommenda-tion. Since 2009, it’s estimated that more than 100,000 Coloradans have been approved to use medical marijuana.

Amendment 20 doesn’t pro-vide protections for employees. Instead, it states: “Nothing in this section shall require any employer to accommodate the medical use of marijuana in any workplace.”

Despite that, medical mari-juana advocates said they’ll work with state legislators to get protec-tions for employees approved to use the drug.

“We plan on pushing a patients’ bill of rights,” said Brian Vicen te, executive director of Sensi ble Colo rado, an advocate for medical marijuana patients. “That would be focused on establishing some protections for patients that have been kind of whittled down in the law.”

No. 1 on Vicente’s list for the upcoming legislative session is employment protections.

Of the 14 states where medical marijuana is legal, only Rhode Island provides protections for employees, students and renters, who can’t be penalized as medical marijuana cardholders.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said that there have been no legal challenges

to the employee provision in Amendment 20 but that he thinks that’s bound to change.

“One wonders when you’ve got a couple hundred thousand people with these permits in the workplace whether somebody’s going to allege, ‘You have to accommodate me,’” Suthers said. “We’ll see.”

Amendment 20 also states that no governmental, private or any other health insurance provider should be held liable for a claim to reimburse a patient for the use of medical marijuana.

Like the city, which employs 275 full-time workers, many of Steamboat’s larger employers said they have no specific provisions in their drug policies related to medical marijuana. Most take a zero-tolerance approach to all controlled substances whether rec-ommended by a doctor.

Christine McKelvie, spokes-woman for Yampa Valley Medical Center, which employs about 550 people, said the hospital’s policy is to maintain a drug- and alcohol-free workplace.

“Our policy includes controlled

substances, prescription substanc-es, over-the-counter medications and alcohol,” she said. “What the policy is intended to do and what we apply it toward is a safe environment for our patients, our long-term residents, co-workers and employees themselves. We don’t tolerate impairment regard-less of the source.”

The policies for Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp., which employs about 1,900 people, including part-timers and volunteers during winter, are intended to provide a drug-free workplace, Trish Sullivan, vice president of human relations, said in a statement.

“Marijuana possession and use was and remains illegal under federal law regardless of state statutes to the contrary, and our policies must continue to reflect that,” she said.

Thrasher said the city’s drug and alcohol policy requires that some employees, such as bus driv-ers, take pre-employment drug screenings. He said employees are subject to random testing if their supervisor has “reasonable suspicion” they are abusing drugs

or alcohol. Thrasher added that if an employee is caught using drugs or alcohol at work or tests posi-tive, the city can take disciplinary action including termination.

He said it’s going to be inter-esting as more of Colorado’s work force is approved to use medical marijuana. As it stands, he guesses employers are scratch-ing their heads about how to

address it.“I think employers have to

be careful because we do have concerns about productivity, workplace safety,” Thrasher said. “We’re going to take the stance that if someone is under the influence of any drug, prescribed or otherwise, we’re going to take action. That’s what it boils down to.”

There’s smoke but no fireMany employers say there is no need for marijuana-specific policies


cheryl stene, who works in lab technician support at Yampa Valley Medical center’s YampaWorks, demonstrates how the program performs urine-based drug tests. the tests are required before working at some steamboat companies.


a job application for the city of steamboat springs notifies applicants that drug testing is a condition of employment.


Green rushjohn f. russell/staff

aloha’s owner Chris Ward tends to marijuana plants in the grow room of his medical marijuana center in Milner, which opened july 4.

Part 1: Seeds of controversy Oct. 6It took nine years for Colorado’s medical marijuana industry to take off after Amendment 20. Some worry it’s now out of control.

Part 2: Green rush TodayMedical marijuana has become the basis for lucrative businesses, and entrepreneurs are not the only ones who could cash in.

Part 3: Blazing the trail FridayMunicipalities across the state have been forced to weigh in on the marijuana debate. The months ahead will shape the industry.

Entrepreneurs cash in on medical marijuana

KKevin Fisher and Ryan Fisher are building a medical marijuana empire, though it may not be obvious from their unassuming warehouse office in the indus-trial area west of downtown Steamboat Springs.

The thirtysomethings who traded their bartending jobs for those of medical marijuana entrepreneurs — part horticul-turalists, part marketing geniuses and part health care workers — have made Rocky Mountain Remedies one of the largest medical marijuana centers in Colorado

based on number of patients served. And Steamboat’s first medical marijuana center continues to expand, with its owners rein-vesting some of their profits back into the business.

More than 1,000 regular monthly patients later, it’s fair to say their efforts are paying off.



2 | Growing Pains: Part 2 Thursday, October 7, 2010 Steamboat Pilot & Today

Those 1,000 regulars are less than half of the more than 2,000 customers from Northwest Colorado and the Front Range who have bought medical marijuana and other products at Rocky Mountain Remedies since it opened.

After launching the business with only the money in their bank accounts and by maxing out credit cards, Ryan Fisher said they’ve spent “well, well into the six fig-ures” investing in five grow opera-tions, two of which are in Boulder. They paid more than $20,000 in fees in August for a state license. The business pays sales and prop-erty taxes and rent in Steamboat. It employs 16 full-time workers, which includes the owners.

“Our mentality is we’re in it for the long haul, reinvesting, tak-ing care of our customers,” Ryan Fisher said.

The timing was right for Kevin Fisher and Ryan Fisher, who are not related. They opened Rocky Mountain Remedies on the cusp of a statewide medical marijuana explosion.

Medical marijuana became legal for patients with certain conditions and a doctor’s recom-mendation when Colorado voters approved Amendment 20 in 2000. But it took nearly a decade for the industry to really take root.

In fall 2009, the industry took off after the Colorado Board of Health opted not to impose a limit on the number of patients a caregiver could provide marijuana for. When the U.S. Department of Justice instructed prosecutors not to use federal resources against people who comply with state medical marijuana laws, the doors blew wide open.

The medical marijuana patient registry at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment soared to an estimat-ed 113,0000 as of Aug. 31. And medical marijuana centers started popping up all across the state beginning in 2009 — especially in Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder — reaching an estimated high of 1,100.

“This whole new business had sprung up,” said Matt Brown, director of public policy for Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation, an advo-cacy group for center owners, growers and infused-product makers.

Growth industryAllen St. Pierre, the director

of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Washington, D.C., said in an August telephone interview that Colorado is unique, having moved from self-preservation (patient and caregiver model) to commercial distribution (medical marijuana centers) without the law changing first.

Colorado’s first medical mari-

juana center opened in Denver in 2004. Michael Lee, owner of Cannabis Therapeutics in Colorado Springs, said in August that his center was the second to open statewide in 2004 and is the oldest surviving center.

“I was the only one in the state operating for five years. Now there’s 230 in Colorado Springs,” Lee said.

St. Pierre said only after the industry was established did state government decide to step in and regulate it. He said only Montana is doing something similar.

“It’s happening,” St. Pierre said. “And it’s not happening anywhere else in the country like this.”

Martin Chilcutt, the creator of Amendment 20, moved to

Kalamazoo, Mich., five years ago but returned to Denver in summer 2009 to see how far Colorado’s medical marijuana industry had come.

A former member of the U.S. Navy and a psychologist, Chilcutt said in a telephone interview that he was prompted to become an activist for mari-juana legislation after seeing the positive impacts it had on the veterans he counseled. But as a longtime marijuana user, Chilcutt said he already knew marijuana’s medical benefits after using it while battling can-cer and to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

Chilcutt, now 76, said the intention of Amendment 20 was to create a constitutional amend-ment that, when approved,

couldn’t be changed. He said it also was written, with the help of his attorneys, in a way that was flexible enough to allow the medical marijuana industry to evolve into a workable system that would benefit patients.

Some, including Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and Colorado Chief Medical Officer Ned Calonge, have said they don’t think medical mari-juana centers were what voters had in mind when they approved Amendment 20.

But Chilcutt said a corner drugstore type of distribution model was part of the evolution he envisioned for Amendment 20. He just didn’t know to what extent.

“I was shocked,” Chilcutt said. “My very first impres-

sion was, ‘Great. It’s working. Dispensaries are opening, and there’s a delivery system in pro-cess.’ I thought, ‘This is great. It’s wonderful.’”

Despite the number of medical marijuana centers — formerly called dispensaries — some owners like Flo Barron, who runs Little Brown House on South Broadway Street in Denver, don’t mind being in close proximity to other centers.

Little Brown House, which opened in September 2009, is within 1,000 feet of medical marijuana centers Colorado Well ness, the Green Depot Med-ical Dispensary and Walking Raven.

“There’s enough patients to go around,” Barron said. “So it’s not like we’re in competition.”

Matt stensland/staff

Medical marijuana centers are highly concentrated along south Broadway street in denver. the number of centers in Colorado has been estimated as high as 1,100.


flo Barron, who owns little Brown house on south Broadway street in denver, doesn’t mind being near three other medical marijuana centers.


east Colfax avenue in denver also has a large concentration of medical marijuana centers, some next door to each other.

Steamboat Pilot & Today Growing Pains: Part 2 Thursday, October 7, 2010 | 3

Marijuana cultivation

Source: Kevin Fisher, Rocky Mountain Remedies

A clipping from a mature female plant is placed in an organic sponge inside a plastic container for six to 10 days.

Indoor organic dirt grow (15 to 30 weeks)1

When it gets big enough, the plant is moved to a 16-ounce cup, where it stays for 10 to 14 days,

receiving light, water and other nutrients.

2

As the roots continue to grow, it is moved into larger containers, first to a 1-gallon pot where it stays for one to two weeks.

3

The plant then is moved from the 1-gallon pot to a 5-gallon bucket, where

it stays for three to five weeks.

4

The plants are moved to another room and exposed to 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness each day to flower, or bud, for six to 12 weeks.

5

The buds are trimmed from the plant, and the

fan leaves are removed. The buds are hung to dry

for four to six days, and then the sugar leaves are

trimmed off.

6

After drying, the buds are placed in airtight glass jars to cure for two to four weeks.

7

The buds are moved to plastic bags after the

cultivation process.

8

Starting a businessBefore the medical marijuana

center boom, Brian Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado, an advocate for the state’s medical marijuana patients, said Denver was littered with empty commercial spaces.

“Now they’re operating busi-nesses, paying property and sales taxes,” Vicente said in August. “It’s kind of turned around the Denver real estate market. It’s a fascinat-ing transformation occurring in small towns and big towns. These are contributing members of the community.”

What started on the Front Range soon spread to Northwest Colorado.

Dave Epstein, property man-ager for Downhill Plaza in Steam-boat Springs, said Rocky Moun-tain Remedies rents four of his 2,500-square-foot units and soon will rent a fifth for its commercial operation, grow operation and apartments for employees.

“It’s been good for the real estate rental market,” he said. “My units would be vacant right now if it wasn’t for them.”

It’s all part of a business oppor-tunity seized by the two Fishers, who compared what they’re doing to founding a tech company dur-ing the dot-com startup craze.

The 34-year-olds, who moved to Steamboat for the mountain lifestyle after graduating from col-lege about a decade before, said they wanted to open a business. But after working in Steamboat’s service industry, they said starting a restaurant wasn’t on the list.

The “like-minded enthusiasts” thought they could make a medi-cal marijuana center work.

“Many people in town had been self-medicating for years,” Kevin Fisher said. “We thought if we could get early in the market, any market, it was the thing to do.”

Rocky Mountain Remedies,

along with D and C Medical Mari juana and Therapeutic Mas-sage, opened in August 2009 before the city of Steam boat Springs had an ordinance in place to regulate marijuana centers.

The city allowed the businesses to open with operating guidelines from the Steamboat Springs Police Department.

In August 2009, city leaders imposed a 90-day moratorium on new medical marijuana centers, giving them time to draft an ordi-nance that would help regulate the industry at the local level. The ordinance, approved in January 2010, capped the number of centers within city limits at three — two for-profit businesses and one cooperative model. Natural Choice Co-op, which since has dropped the co-op from its name, was the third.

Provisions included distance restrictions from schools, manda-tory background checks for own-ers, restricted hours of operation and limited exterior signage.

Other Routt County com-munities have taken different approaches.

The Yampa Town Board opted against drafting an ordinance to

regulate centers, treating them as any other business after J-Jay Johnson opened LMS Dispensary in December 2009 in Leisure Mountain Studio, a coffee shop and gallery he operated with his wife.

The Oak Creek Town Board also opted against an ordinance regulating medical marijuana businesses, instead referring the issue to the Oak Creek Planning Commission. Commissioners approved a land-use change and recommended the Town Board approve a request for Mary’s medical marijuana center.

For unincorporated Routt County, the Routt County Board of Commissioners approved a conditional land-use application May 11 for Aloha’s in Milner. Commis sioners required owner Chris Ward to make 17 changes to his facility, which transformed it from a residential to a com-mercial building. The business opened July 4. The county since has imposed a moratorium on new medical marijuana centers through Dec. 31.

When Aloha’s opened, it was the sixth medical marijuana center operating in Routt County.


Brian Vicente, executive director of sensible Colorado, describes the clusters of medical marijuana centers in denver. Vicente says medical marijuana centers are occupying denver commercial spaces that had been vacant, boosting the denver real estate market.


each leaf on Brian Vicente’s map represents a medical marijuana center in denver.


Routt County medical marijuana timeline

Aug. 5, 2009The Steamboat

Springs City Council votes not to impose

an emergency moratorium on

medical marijuana businesses.

August 2009Rocky Mountain

Remedies and D and C Medical Marijuana

and Therapeutic Massage open and

agree to follow Steamboat Springs Police Department

guidelines.

Aug. 18, 2009The Steamboat

Springs City Council enacts a 90-day

moratorium, which prevents other

businesses from opening until a

medical marijuana ordinance is drafted.

December 2009Aloha Mobile

Caregivers opens. The business is based in Denver but serves

patients in Routt, Moffat and Summit

counties. LMS Dispensary opens

in Yampa.

Dec. 1, 2009The Steamboat

Springs City Council approves a first reading of the

medical marijuana ordinance but asks

city attorneys to make revisions.

Dec. 15, 2009The Steamboat

Springs City Council delays the second

reading of the medical marijuana ordinance because Councilman Jon Quinn questions

a provision that would allow law enforcement

to access security footage at any time.

Jan. 5, 2010The Steamboat

Springs City Council approves a second

reading of the medical marijuana

ordinance, permitting two for-profit centers and one cooperative.

Jan. 14, 2010The Oak Creek Town

Board declines to impose a moratorium

or take action on a medical marijuana center application

from a group led by Stagecoach resident

Jacob Wise.

Jan. 20, 2010The Oak Creek

Planning Commission approves a land-use change that would

allow a medical marijuana center and recommends the Oak

Creek Town Board approve the change.

Jan. 28, 2010The Oak Creek Town

Board approves a six-month conditional license for Mary’s, the center for the group led by Jacob Wise.

Feb. 2, 2010The Steamboat

Springs City Council OKs business licenses for Rocky Mountain Remedies, D and C Medical Marijuana and Therapeutic

Massage, and Natural Choice Co-op.

March 12, 2010The Oak Creek Town

Board approves a medical marijuana

ordinance and imposes a 180-day

moratorium to consider land-use changes for grow

operations.

Generating revenueWard got his start in the mari-

juana business at a young age. Among the Hawaiian décor

on the walls of his Milner medi-cal marijuana center, there’s a framed photo of a 6-year-old Ward in the grow fields on Kauai, where he lived until he was 18.

Ward, a former pro skier and father of five, said Aloha’s grossed $22,000 in sales in its first month, but very little of it was profit. Ward, who since has sold medical marijuana and related products to more than 360 patients, said he hopes the business makes money.

“Maybe I’ll make a profit someday, but right now, I’m still covering things,” said Ward, who also owns snow and tree removal businesses in Steamboat.

Wise, owner of Mary’s in Oak Creek, has a similar story.

“I pay sales tax, but unfortu-nately sales haven’t been tremen-dous,” he said. “I’ve invested a tremendous amount, but basi-cally — so far — I haven’t made anything.”

Special Agent Mike Turn er, of the Denver office of the Drug Enforcement Adminis tration, said he has heard estimates that medical marijuana centers on the Front Range make as much as $25,000 to $50,000 a week.

Industry advocates and center owners dispute those numbers.

“Everyone thinks the margins are huge and fat,” Kevin Fisher said. “It’s not. It’s not like grow-ing a few plants in your closet and selling that on the street with no overhead. It’s a com-pletely different paradigm than that.”

Despite the success of Rocky Mountain Remedies and the fact Steamboat has two other medical marijuana centers, the impact to city sales tax revenues is unclear.

Kim Weber, revenue supervi-sor for Steamboat, said the city generated $5,000 to $30,000 in sales tax revenue from medi-cal marijuana since August 2009. She declined to provide a more specific figure because Steamboat has only three medi-cal marijuana centers, and she didn’t want to single out any one business.

Although the sales tax rev-enue generated from medical marijuana in Steamboat is a fraction of what the city collects annually, other Colorado cities are starting to reap the financial rewards provided by medical marijuana centers.

A March 2010 story in the Boulder Daily Camera indicated that Boulder generated nearly $74,000 in sales taxes from medical marijuana sales in 2009. City officials estimated that Boulder’s 105 centers could gen-erate nearly $300,000 in sales

tax this year. The Colorado Springs

Gazette, in an Aug. 12 story, reported that medical marijuana sales generated $327,000 in sales tax revenue there since January 2009. Colorado Springs, which at one time had 230 medical marijuana centers, generated $111,000 in sales tax revenue in 2009.

Brown, of Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation, and Vicente, of Sensible Colora-do, said there has been no recent study based on the existing num-ber of medical marijuana card-holders to determine how much the industry could generate. They said the medical marijuana industry has the potential for an annual economic impact of hundreds of millions of dollars across Colorado.

“It is significant, but we don’t have approximate numbers,” Brown said.

john f. russell/staff

rocky Mountain remedies co-owner Kevin fisher trims buds inside the grow room at his center in steamboat springs. the business employs 16 full-time workers and is one of the largest centers in the state based on number of patients served.


ryan fisher, one of the owners of rocky Mountain remedies in steamboat springs, hangs marijuana buds to dry.

Business informationMedical marijuana centers in Routt County■ Aloha’s970-875-042021600 U.S. Highway 40, [email protected]■ D and C Medical Marijuana and Therapeutic Massage970-870-2941410 S. Lincoln Ave., Suite A7, Steamboat Springssites.google.com/site/dandcmedical/■ Mary’s970-736-8212200 S. Sharp St., Oak [email protected]■ Natural Choice970-879-44201707 Copper Ridge Spur, Unit A, Steamboat Springswww.naturalchoicemmj.com■ Rocky Mountain Remedies970-871-27682750 Downhill Plaza, No. 205, Steamboat Springswww.rockymountainremedies.com

April 18, 2010Rocky Mountain Remedies’ Kandy

Kush wins best strain at the inaugural Western Slope

Cannabis Crown in Aspen.

May 11, 2010The Routt

County Board of Commissioners

approves a conditional land-use application for Aloha’s in Milner but requires owner Chris Ward to make 17 changes to his

facility.

May 20, 2010The Hayden Town

Council votes not to amend the town’s land-use code to

allow medical marijuana centers.

June 8, 2010The Routt

County Board of Commissioners

approves a moratorium to

prohibit businesses from applying to operate a medical

marijuana center in the county through

Dec. 31.

June 25, 2010The Oak Creek Town

Board approves a request from Mary’s owner Jacob Wise to operate a kitchen to make medical-marijuana-infused

products.

July 4, 2010Aloha’s opens

in Milner.

July 16, 2010The Hayden Town

Council hears a first reading of an

ordinance prohibiting medical marijuana

centers.

July 22, 2010The Oak Creek Town

Board approves a proposal from two

Summit County residents for a grow

operation and commercial kitchen in town but denies

their request to open a center.

Aug. 1, 2010Medical marijuana centers, growers

and infused-product makers are required

to apply for state licenses. LMS

Dispensary in Yampa doesn’t apply and

later closes.

Aug. 19, 2010The Hayden Town

Council approves an ordinance prohibiting

medical marijuana centers. The

ordinance doesn’t affect a medical

marijuana cardholder’s personal

use or cultivation.

Sept. 1, 2010The Yampa Town Board adopts a moratorium on

medical marijuana businesses until

July 1, 2011, which coincides with the

moratorium imposed by House Bill 1284.

Sept. 9, 2010The Oak Creek Town Board refers Jacob

Wise’s request to operate an

1,800-square-foot grow operation in downtown Oak

Creek to the Oak Creek Planning

Commission, which meets Oct. 20.

Routt County medical marijuana timeline


rocky Mountain remedies co-owner Kevin fisher trims buds inside the grow room at his center in steamboat springs. the business employs 16 full-time workers and is one of the largest centers in the state based on number of patients served.



Regulating the businessAt about the same time

Steamboat and other Colorado communities were creating ordi-nances to regulate medical mari-juana businesses, the Colorado General Assembly’s 2010 legisla-tive session was just beginning.

Rep. Tom Massey, a Poncha Springs Republican, said in early September that the proliferation of medical marijuana centers led to some problems for law enforcement and issues related to safety and security.

“We felt like we had to deal with it in the legislative session,” Massey said in a telephone interview, adding that he and Sen. Chris Romer, a Denver Democrat, had started drafting the legislation the previous sum-mer.

Massey said the legislation that would eventually become House Bill 1284 was intended to regulate Colorado’s medical marijuana industry from “top to bottom.”

Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation was born after the industry took off and when people needed guidance about how to open a business, Brown said. Then a small-business consultant, Brown said people who wanted to do things the right way and without get-ting into trouble approached him for help.

Brown said the regulations were welcome from a business community desperate for guid-ance and clamoring to prove it wasn’t operating illegally.

“We knew going into this that the regulations would require a lot of depth, creating an agricul-tural commodity and medical product from scratch,” he said. “In that context, House Bill 1284 is better than anyone could have expected.”

Legislators in May approved House Bill 1284 along with Senate Bill 109, which was designed to regulate the medical side of the industry. Gov. Bill Ritter signed both into law in June.

Among its many provisions, the

legislation doesn’t permit medical marijuana center owners who have been convicted of a drug felony in the previous five years from the time they submit an application for a business license.

Another provision required centers to certify they were grow-ing 70 percent of their marijuana by Sept. 1. Center owners also are subject to storage and trans-portation, sanitation, labeling, record-keeping and tax-reporting requirements, in addition to extensive security provisions.

Matt Cook, senior director of enforcement for the Colorado Department of Revenue, has said center owners would be monitored by video surveillance from “seed to sale.” During an August telephone interview, Cook said he was about to start working with medical marijuana stakeholders to draft rules that would regulate the industry.

He released 92 pages of draft rules after the first rule-making meeting with stakeholders Aug. 27.

House Bill 1284Colorado House Bill 1284 was created to regulate the business side of Colorado’s medical marijuana industry. Here are some highlights:■ Medical marijuana center owners, growers and infused-product mak-ers were required to apply for a state license by Aug. 1. After Aug. 1, any business that applies cannot open until July 1, 2011.■ Medical marijuana centers were required to prove they were growing 70 percent of the marijuana necessary for their operation by Sept. 1.■ Local municipalities can prohibit medical marijuana businesses.■ The Department of Revenue has authority to create rules to govern the state’s medical marijuana industry.■ The state should request that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration move marijuana from a Schedule 1 controlled substance to a Schedule 2 controlled substance by Jan. 1, 2012.■ Medical marijuana center owners are subject to security, storage and transportation, sanitation, record-keep-ing and tax-reporting requirements.■ People are prohibited from operat-ing medical marijuana businesses if they: are licensed physicians making patient recommendations; are younger than 21; owe taxes, are in default on student loans or owe child support; have a felony drug conviction in the past five years; are a law enforcement officer; have not been a resident of Colorado for at least two years.■ Prospective medical marijuana busi-ness owners are required to submit their fingerprints for criminal back-ground checks.■ Medical marijuana centers can-not be located within 1,000 feet of a school, alcohol or drug treatment facil-ity, college campus or child care facil-ity unless a local municipality imposes a different distance restriction. Centers can operate only from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.■ The locations of grow operations are exempt from the Colorado Open Records Act.■ Medical marijuana businesses are required to collect sales tax.■ Smoking or consumption of mari-juana and related products is prohib-ited at medical marijuana centers.■ Fees paid by the medical marijuana industry can be used only by the medical marijuana program and not transferred to any other state fund.■ The Department of Revenue has the authority to revoke medical marijuana business licenses after an investigation and public hearing.■ Medical marijuana centers are allowed to grow as many as six plants and possess as much as 2 ounces for each patient who has designated the center as his or her primary center, unless the patient has gotten authori-zation from a doctor to possess more.■ Caregivers are limited to five patients, and patients are required to have only one caregiver at a time.■ Half of the first $2 million in sales taxes generated by the sale of medi-cal marijuana must be given to the Colorado Department of Human Services for juveniles and adults with substance abuse needs, and the other half must be given to the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing for screening, intervention and treatment for people at risk of substance abuse.

Source: Colorado Revised Statutes


Chris Ward, owner of aloha’s, tends to the plants inside the grow house at his center in Milner. Ward said his business is not yet profitable.


Chris Ward has sold medical marijuana and related products to more than 360 patients at aloha’s in Milner.


Some center owners said the new legislation weeded out those business owners who wanted only to make money and didn’t care about the well-being of patients.

“It’s getting rid of all the fakes and underground people,” said Emanuel Bernal, owner of Platte Valley Dispensary in Denver, during an interview at Cannabis Festiva. Dubbed the largest outdoor cannabis festi-val in Colorado, the event was held Aug. 21 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City.

But not everyone in the medical marijuana industry was pleased with the legislation.

At the Medical Marijuana Business Alliance meeting held at Casselman’s Bar & Venue in downtown Denver, Laura Kriho, of the Boulder-based Cannabis Therapy Institute, said the legis-lation merely outlines new ways for people to go to jail.

“For every new regulation

they add, there’s going to be a new penalty,” she said.

Improving the imageWhat Kriho sees as prohibi-

tive, many in the medical mari-juana industry see as an oppor-tunity to prove their legitimacy.

Cheryl Brown, president of the Medical Marijuana Business Alliance, said the organization works to promote and protect the industry.

“The image we want to portray to the rest of the com-munity is it’s a legitimate indus-try, one of the fastest-growing in the state,” she said at the meeting.“We’re putting people to work, small businesses are being created, and it’s excellent revenue for counties, cities and the state. Everybody is getting a piece of the action.”

House Bill 1284 required medical marijuana centers, grow-ers and infused-product makers to apply for a state license by

Aug. 1. The cost of the fees, which ranged from $7,500 to $18,000 for a single license, forced J-Jay Johnson to close LMS Dispensary in Yampa.

Johnson said the system wasn’t conducive to small busi-nesses like his that served older patients, mostly with marijuana edibles and tinctures.

Cook said 809 centers sub-mitted applications in three categories based on the number of patients who have designated them as their primary centers. Based on its number of patients, Rocky Mountain Remedies is among the 36 largest in the state.

In addition to the centers, 1,219 growers and 309 infused-product makers submitted appli-cations, bringing the total num-ber of Colorado medical mari-juana businesses to 2,337. Cook said the applications generated more than $8 million in fees.

Although the fees can’t be used to offset the state budget deficit, according to the legisla-tion, they will be used to regulate the medical marijuana industry. Cook said the legislation gives him the authority to hire one person for every 10 centers to conduct background checks, inspections and investigations — about 80 new employees if he needs all of them.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment also was given the authority to hire additional employees, tripling the size of its Medical Marijuana Registry staff to 33. The registry, which reviews medi-cal marijuana patient applica-tions, receives about 1,000 pieces of mail a day, the majority with $90 application fees enclosed.

In addition to Rocky Moun-tain Remedies, which expected to employ 20 full-time workers

by Oct. 1, other local medical marijuana centers are putting people to work. Ward, who owns Aloha’s, now has six employees, three who are full time. And Jacob Wise, owner of Mary’s in Oak Creek, wants to expand his tincture business to employ more than 30 in the next two years.

Most of those involved in the medical marijuana industry acknowledge that House Bill 1284 requires more work this legislative session and in sessions to come. But Rep. Massey said it’s a good start.

“Overall, I think we did a pretty good job of crafting a comprehensive regulatory struc-ture, and we’re hearing from other states that want to use it as a model,” Massey said.

Cardholders by stateRegistered medical marijuana patients

States that approved medical marijuana

State Registered patients Population Percent registeredAlaska 326 698,473 0.05 percentCalifornia 540,000 to 680,000 36,961,664 1.5 to 1.8 percentColorado 113,000 5,024,748 2.2 percentD.C. No patients 599,657 Zero percentHawaii 8,255 1,295,178 0.64 percentMaine 36 1,318,301 0.003 percentMichigan 26,387 9,969,727 0.26 percentMontana 19,635 974,989 2.01 percentNevada 2,247 2,643,085 0.09 percentNew Jersey No patients 8,707,739 Zero percentNew Mexico 2,291 2,009,671 0.11 percent Oregon 36,380 3,825,657 0.95 percentRhode Island 2,175 1,053,209 0.20 percentVermont 249 621,760 0.04 percentWashington No registry 6,664,195 Not available

Clarifications■ State populations are 2009 U.S. Census Bureau estimates.■ Applying to Maine’s medical marijuana registry is optional through January.■ New Jersey and D.C. medical marijuana programs have not started.■ California and Colorado registered patient numbers are estimates. All others are the most current data available.

Sources: Government agencies, California NORML

Alaska

Colo.

N.M.

Nev.

Calif.

Mont.Ore.

Wash.

Hawaii

Mich.

N.J.R.I.

Maine

Vt.

niCole Miller/staff


Chris Ward holds a jar of medical marijuana ready to be purchased by patients at aloha’s in Milner.


stems of marijuana hang in the drying room at rocky Mountain remedies in steamboat springs.


Pipes line a vendor table in denver at the aug. 21 Cannabis festiva in Commerce City. the event is dubbed the largest outdoor cannabis festival in Colorado.


Smoking marijuana isn’t the only way to consume it.

Colorado’s medical mari-juana centers typically offer a variety of infused products, from baked goods to tinctures and just about everything in between.

Rocky Mountain Remedies in Steamboat Springs has about 100 unique products for sale. From two dozen strains of medi-cal marijuana — including the Western Slope Cannabis Crown-winning Kandy Kush — to more than a half-dozen hashes, 15 edibles, 15 tinctures and eight sodas.

There’s also a wide variety of paraphernalia, including pipes, bubblers and bongs. Rocky Mountain Remedies even sells T-shirts.

Despite the array of products, Rocky Mountain Remedies’ bread and butter continues to be its medical marijuana.

“Whatever we put on the shelf, 80 percent of our busi-ness is plain ole nug,” co-owner Kevin Fisher said, using a slang term for high-quality marijuana buds.

He quickly corrected himself. “Not ‘plain ole’ — killer.”On the Front Range, Mich-

ael Lee, owner of Cannabis Therapeutics in Colo rado Springs, stocks 84 medical mari-juana products on his shelves. In addition to marijuana in its traditional form, he sells pot-infused edibles such as cookies, brownies and muffins.

Baked goods often are made with marijuana butter. Dried marijuana can be added to but-ter, brought to a boil, simmered, cooled and used as regular but-ter would be.

Lee also sells marijuana-infused chocolate, candies, gra-nola bars, gum, popcorn, beef jerky, cheese, spaghetti sauce, cough drops, muscle rubs and even suppositories. In August, Lee stocked 14 kinds of organic soap, four types of bubble bath, bath soaps and shower gels. And he produces it all himself.

“If you can imagine it or ask for it, we make it,” Lee said.

Routt County’s other medical marijuana centers also promote a variety of products.

JJ Southard, operations supervisor for Natural Choice in Steamboat, said he hopes the center’s seed bank — offering

marijuana plant seeds from as far away as Europe — becomes its niche in the marketplace.

Jacob Wise, owner of Mary’s in Oak Creek, similarly hopes to expand his tincture business. Wise said in August that he thinks the alcohol- or glycerin-based liq-uid extract typically made from dried marijuana offers more of a medical application than simply smoking pot. It’s applied in small amounts through an eyedropper

on the tongue.Like his counterparts at

Rocky Mountain Remedies, Wise acknowledged that selling medical marijuana continues to make up the majority of his business. But he thinks tinctures will become more popular.

“I have five people within walking distance that have never smoked pot who are on tinc-tures,” he said. “The results are amazing.”


Not just about the weed


Michael lee, owner of Cannabis therapeutics in Colorado springs, says his center has 84 medical marijuana products on its shelves, including beef jerky and spaghetti sauce.


Patients who enter rocky Mountain remedies will find a wide selection of marijuana. Many patients prefer to smoke it, but the steamboat springs business also offers edibles, drinks and tinctures with varieties of marijuana in them.

Colorado medical marijuana centers capitalize on a variety of products

Like medical marijuana center own-ers, infused-product makers were required by House Bill 1284 to apply for a Colorado Department of Revenue license, submit to a criminal back-ground check and pay a $1,250 fee by Aug. 1. More than 300 people statewide applied for the license.

To apply, infused-product mak-ers were required to have business licenses from their local municipalities. Steamboat Springs senior city plan-ner Bob Keenan said last month that the city has not licensed any infused-

product makers.The legislation subjects infused-prod-

uct makers to labeling and sanitation requirements. Infused-product makers can partner with medical marijuana cen-ters or cultivate their own marijuana if they obtain a separate growers license. However, infused-product makers who grow their own marijuana can use it only for the production of infused prod-ucts. Licensed infused-product makers also are permitted to sell their products to any licensed medical marijuana center.

Rules also regulate infused-product makers



Genovations Creations’ Chief science Officer John Kopta works at the Colorado springs-based lab to isolate cannabinoids, the marijuana compounds with medicinal properties.

Part 1: Seeds of controversy Oct. 6It took nine years for Colorado’s medical marijuana industry to take off after Amendment 20. Some worry it’s now out of control.

Part 2: Green rush Oct. 7Medical marijuana has become the basis for lucrative businesses, and entrepreneurs are not the only ones who could cash in.

Part 3: Blazing the trail TodayMunicipalities across the state have been forced to weigh in on the marijuana debate. The months ahead will shape the industry.

Spotlight lands on Colorado, the medical marijuana leader

TThe room erupted in applause after Kush Magazine Publisher Michael Lerner told a packed audience of more than 300 center owners, infused-product makers and growers at the Medical Marijuana Business Alliance’s August networking meeting that “Colorado is so far ahead of the rest of the country in this industry, there is no second.”

It was a common reaction to the speakers throughout the night at Casselman’s Bar & Venue in downtown Denver. They whistled, whooped and

hollered when Matt Cook, a career law enforcement officer charged with oversee-ing the state’s medical marijuana indus-try, said, “It truly is a privilege to grow with this industry as we moved forward.”

It seemed like the group felt it was part of something big. The industry had come so far, and there was still room for growth.



Blazing the trail

2 | Growing Pains: Part 3 Friday, October 8, 2010 Steamboat Pilot & Today

“For me, the energy is crack-ling,” said Brett Magdovitz, who is part of a group that owns three Front Range medical mari-juana centers and several prod-uct lines. “This is history in the making.”

A few days later, at Cannabis Festiva at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Lerner drove home his point.

“I feel Colorado — being the leader — is basically pav-ing the way for the rest of the world,” said Lerner, publisher of the Calabasas, Calif.-based Kush Magazine, which has local editions in 34 cities in 14 states. “I think the capital for medical marijuana is right here.”

An estimated 113,000 Colora-dans have been approved to use medical marijuana, which became legal after state voters passed Amendment 20 in 2000.

Now medical marijuana centers number more than 800, a majority of which are in the Front Range cities of Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder. The industry has taken root across the state and quickly spread to mountain towns such as Steamboat Springs, where three medical marijuana centers serve a population of about 12,000.

Perhaps more profound is the societal impact of medical marijuana’s sudden rise. With marijuana-related advertisements bombarding residents young and old in newspapers, on TV and on storefronts across the state, it quickly is becoming a part of Colorado culture. But the indus-try’s future still is hazy.

“I think it is becoming more a part of the community all over Colorado,” Steamboat Springs City Council President Cari Hermacinski said in August. “The big concern going forward for me: The state has passed new rules. I don’t know whether that simplifies matters or complicates them for Steamboat.”

Legitimizing a cultureMarijuana long has been a

part of Steamboat Springs cul-ture, City Council member Jon Quinn said.

“I think particularly in Steamboat, there’s always been this accepted underground culture in which marijuana has been accepted for decades,” he said. “If you visit other com-munities, that might be differ-ent.”

There was little opposition among city leadership to allow-ing medical marijuana centers in Steamboat. The City Council allowed two such businesses to open in August 2009 before imposing a moratorium that gave the city time to craft an ordinance to formally regulate the industry. That ordinance was approved in January.


events like Cannabis festiva, which was held aug. 21 in Commerce City and billed as the largest outdoor medical marijuana festival in Colorado, are becoming more common. Kush Magazine, one of the event’s sponsors, plans to bring its world conference to denver in May. Kush Publisher Michael lerner said the convention could attract as many as 250,000 people to the Colorado Convention Center and generate as much as $10 million in revenue for the city.

Steamboat Pilot & Today Growing Pains: Part 3 Friday, October 8, 2010 | 3

Some City Council members are reconsidering whether capping the number of medical marijuana centers at three — two for-profit businesses and one cooperative — created a monopoly instead of a competitive marketplace for busi-ness owners and customers.

Kenny Reisman was the only member of the City Council who voted against the ordinance in January, citing his preference for no cap and a higher license fee. In August, Reisman said a higher license fee would have required a larger commitment from center owners.

“We as a government were try-ing to balance a lot of different entities: patients, businesses, the police department,” he said. “I almost felt more was better if it came with a higher price tag.”

The passage of House Bill 1284 and Senate Bill 109 — legislation created to regulate the business and medical sides, respectively, of the state’s medical marijuana industry — will require the city to amend its medical marijuana ordinance.

“I would be surprised if the new ordinance restricts the num-ber to three,” Quinn said. “We may restrict to some number, but I have a feeling that number will be more than three.”

Hermacinski agreed that Steamboat’s new ordinance, which City Attorney Tony Lettunich plans to propose to the council this fall, could allow more medi-cal marijuana centers. Whatever that number might be, budding entrepreneurs still will have to wait. House Bill 1284, passed by the General Assembly this spring, imposed a moratorium preventing new medical marijuana businesses from opening before July 1, 2011.

Some Steamboat medical marijuana center owners disagree that the City Council’s ordinance stifled competition.

“It’s not a monopoly,” said Kevin Fisher, co-owner of Rocky Mountain Remedies. “There’s a monopoly if it’s one. There’s three.”

Challenges loomLike Steamboat, other com-

munities are grappling with amending existing medical mari-juana ordinances. Some will leave it to voters to decide whether to allow marijuana businesses in their communities. And some, including Hayden, already have banned medical marijuana busi-nesses.

That ban was made possible by the passage of House Bill 1284. The provision is one of several that medical marijuana

advocates say they will lobby to change in the upcoming legisla-tive session.

“It’s our belief patients have the right to access marijuana in a convenient manner in their communities,” said Brian Vicente, executive director of patient advocacy group Sensible Colorado. “They shouldn’t have to get on the bus to go out of the city or county to get the medicine that their doctor says they need.”

There also could be a chal-lenge of Gov. Bill Ritter’s pro-

posal to use $9 million in revenue generated by the state’s Medical Marijuana Registry cash fund to help balance Colo rado’s budget.

The state’s constitution and Colorado Revised Statutes state that revenue generated from fees paid by medical marijuana patients to obtain a registry card can be used only to adminis-ter the program and can’t be appropriated to any other state fund. The transfer would require General Assembly approval.

Denver medical marijuana

attorney Rob Corry also said he was gearing up to challenge House Bill 1284.

“There are a lot of horrible unconstitutional restrictions on caregivers,” he told the group at the Medical Marijuana Business Alliance’s meeting in August.

Corry said he would challenge the provision in the legislation that restricted caregivers, or medi-cal marijuana providers, to five patients. Caregivers were allowed to have more than five patients after a successful challenge to the

restriction in 2007. That challenge was upheld by the state Board of Health in July 2009, but House Bill 1284 reinstated the five-patient limit.

Rep. Tom Massey, the Poncha Springs Republican who helped draft House Bill 1284 and Senate Bill 109, said in August that he expected the state’s medical marijuana legislation to require tweaks in upcoming legislative sessions. But he added that other states were starting to take notice of what Colorado has done.

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●●

●

●

●

●

I-76

I-70

I-70

I-25

I-25

U.S. 40U.S. 34

Hayden

Aurora

KremmlingGranby

Winter Park

U.S. 287

U.S. 50

U.S. 50

VailBroomfield

Loveland

WindsorGreeley

Paonia

Montrose

Ouray

U.S. 160

U.S. 491

U.S. 160

U.S.

550 U.S.

285

U.S. 24

U.S. 24

U.S. 2

85

U.S. 50

U.S. 50

U.S.

287

U.S. 40

U.S. 36

U.S. 34

U.S. 6

U.S.

385

U.S.

385

U.S.

287

U.S. 160

U.S. 24

U.S. 38

0

U.S. 160U.

S. 2

85

U.S. 85

U.S. 84U.S.

160

●Superior

●Avon

●

Grand Lake

●Fraser

●Olathe

●Bayfield

●Haxtun

●Larkspur

●

Log Lane Village

●Grand Junction

●Castle Rock●De Beque

●Firestone

Ban ●AvonBayfieldCastle Rock*FirestoneGrand Junction*Grand LakeGreeleyHaxtunHaydenKremmlingLog Lane VillageSuperiorVailWinter Park

Ballot measure ●AuroraBroomfieldDe BequeFraserGranbyLarkspurLovelandMontroseOlatheOurayPaoniaWindsor

House Bill 1284 imposes a state-wide moratorium on new medical marijuana busi-nesses until July 1, 2011.

*As of Jan. 1, 2011Source: Sensible Colorado

Different towns, different approaches

niCOle Miller/staff

JOhn f. russell/staff

steamboat springs City Council President Cari hermacinski says a new city ordinance to be proposed this fall could allow more than three medical marijuana centers.

Some towns have banned medical marijuana centers; others are seeking voter guidance in November


City Council member Kenny reisman, center, a routt County advisory Board member with Grand futures Prevention Coalition, says it is crucial for the group, which provides substance abuse prevention, to continue working with schools to provide education about medical marijuana.

GrOwinG PainS

www.steamboatpilot.com/growingpainsReAd The SeRIeS onlIne


Others will followThe legislation is part of the

reason Lerner called Colorado the country’s medical marijuana leader. As he noted, the world is watching.

Matt Cook, senior director of enforcement for the Colorado Department of Revenue, told the same Medical Marijuana Business Alliance group that “I’ll even go so far as to say we’re in the inter-national spotlight,” citing a recent media request from the BBC.

He’s also been contacted by states that have or are consider-ing medical marijuana legisla-tion. He said in an August e-mail that officials in South Dakota, Vermont, Arizona, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., have contacted him to ask about Colorado’s medi-cal marijuana regulatory system.

At the meeting, Cook high-lighted the nation’s capital, which in May approved the use of mari-

juana for medical purposes. The program there hasn’t started.

“Does anybody really know the significance of what happens in the District of Columbia?” Cook asked the group. “If you’re not (aware), their laws had to be ratified by the Congress of the United States, and they were passed.”

House Bill 1284 gave Cook the authority to draft rules to fur-ther regulate Colorado’s medical marijuana industry. He released 92 pages of draft rules after the first meeting of a workgroup Aug. 27.

The rules, which the group of medical marijuana stakeholders will continue to refine at subse-quent meetings, will be presented during a hearing of the state’s licensing authority in January, Cook said. During the ensuing six months, he said his enforcement officers would work closely with members of the state’s medical

marijuana industry.“There’s three components:

education, compliance and enforce-ment,” Cook said. “That will not change. We will ensure the industry understands the expectations for them.”

Some of those rules could include a radio frequency identi-fication system to track medical marijuana sales. The tracking sys-tem is intended to prevent the sale of medical marijuana on the black market. It’s one of several proposed regulations that would help the state keep track of medical mari-juana from seed to sale.

In addition to extensive security regulations, medical marijuana cen-ter owners, infused-product mak-ers and growers will be subject to rules that require safe cultivation of marijuana and related products.

And that’s where people like Michael Lee come in.


Michael lee, owner of Cannabis therapeutics in Colorado springs, also owns Genovations Creations, a lab he opened to study cannabinoids in strains of marijuana. lee says there are only three other labs in the state that do similar research.

By the numbersSteamboat Springs Police Department arrest statistics

Source: Steamboat Springs Police Department

Clarifications■ Arrest figures were provided through Aug. 31, so 2010 numbers are projections.■ One suspect arrest may be counted in multiple categories based on charges.■ Arrest figures are subject to change as cases are updated or new arrests are made.

Juvenile arrests ProjectionsAdult arrestsKey

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Driving under the influence of drugs arrests

100

13121 1

11 6

9

1

1.5

0 Actual

Projection

Actual

Projection

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Driving under the influence of alcohol arrests

154

4

193193

7 2

181

87

130.5

1

1.5

3

Projection

Actual

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Marijuana arrests84

8

7265

10 11

70

60

90

11

16.515

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

All drug arrests176

8

145136

23 24

143

123

184.5

21

31.530


Behind the science

Source: John Kopta, Genovations Creations

Strains of dried marijuana are weighed and put in an oven, similar to a convection oven, to dry. Moisture makes it difficult to extract cannabinoids.

1

The marijuana is ground into a fine powder,

which makes it easier to separate the cannabinoids

from the plant material.

2

The ground marijuana is put into a test tube, and an organic solvent is added to dissolve the cannabinoids.

3

A vortexer is used to mix the solvent and plant

material inside the test tube before it’s placed in

a sonicator, where sound waves pass through it

to break apart the plant material.

4

The sample is placed in a high-performance liquid chromatograph to extract the cannabinoids to identify and quantify which types are in each marijuana strain tested.

5

The machine sends information to a

computer, where the percentage of each cannabinoid in the

sample can be determined and the

marijuana can be labeled.

6

Genovations Creations uses a scientific process to isolate cannabinoids in marijuana to create a cannabinoid profile.

A green scienceLee owns Cannabis Therapeu-

tics, which he says is the state’s oldest surviving medical mari-juana center. He said the business opened in 2004. Lee also owns Genovations Creations, a lab he opened in 2006 to study the sci-ence of marijuana. Lee said he has invested $800,000 in it.

In the Colorado Springs lab, Chief Science Officer John Kopta isolates cannabinoids, the com-pounds that have medicinal prop-erties, to create a cannabinoid profile. Those profiles indicate how much of each cannabinoid is present in a particular strain of medical marijuana or other product.

“Ultimately, I think it’s all for the patients, for them to know what’s in their medications instead of sticking their nose in a jar,” Kopta said. “Just because

it looks pretty and smells pretty, it doesn’t mean what they’re get-ting will help. We’ll get to a point where we’ll know a patient’s ail-ment and be able to recommend the different strain or liquid or product that works best.”

Kopta said he knows what dif-ferent cannabinoids treat based on European research. Clinical trials of marijuana aren’t permit-ted in the U.S. because it’s catego-rized as a Schedule 1 controlled substance by the federal govern-ment and isn’t considered to have medicinal value.

Eventually, he said Genova-tions Creations would be able to breed plants with certain canna-binoids to treat specific medical conditions.

“My research is not going to stop. … It’s where (the indus-try) is going to be. It’s where the future is,” Lee said, but modified

his thought. “It’s now, today. It’s not tomorrow.”

Lee said there are only three other labs in the state conduct-ing research similar to that of Genovations Creations. One of those, Full Spectrum Laboratories in Denver, lists Mary’s in Oak Creek as a medical marijuana center it tests for.

Genovations Creations also offers that service for a fee, but Kopta said there’s been a mixed reaction from medical marijuana center owners. He said it comes down to whether people want to help patients or make money.

In addition to creating can-nabinoid profiles, Lee said the research can detect whether a marijuana sample has mold or other contaminants. He also uses his lab to create some of the 84 medical products he sells at Cannabis Therapeutics.


Michael lee, owner of Cannabis therapeutics in Colorado springs, also owns Genovations Creations, a lab he opened to study cannabinoids in strains of marijuana. lee says there are only three other labs in the state that do similar research.


“I would like to see testing of medical marijuana in every state,” he said, “so they know it’s medicine and it helps people.”

Kopta said research like his will continue to move the indus-try toward legitimacy.

“Everyone is recognizing that this could be the next Zoloft or next Viagra,” Kopta said. “Once it’s taken off that Schedule 1 ranking, it will be available to the pharmaceutical companies. It will be sold in Walmart.”

Matt Brown, of the industry business advocate Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regula-tion, said he thinks it will be years before pharmaceutical companies come on board and are able to conduct clinical trials.

“I always tell people when this changes federally, I think the biggest threat is a company like Whole Foods,” he said. “Their product chain is most like ours. They understand how to take a product from a small organic farm.”

Legitimacy to legalizationAs Colorado’s medical mari-

juana industry becomes more legitimate, so too could measures to make marijuana legal for all users.

Vicente said the state has its eyes on California, whose voters will consider a ballot initiative next month to make it legal for anyone 21 or older to possess as much as an ounce of pot.

State officials in California have estimated that approval of the proposition could generate $1.4 billion in sales tax revenue statewide.

But Vicente said what hap-pens in California won’t dramati-cally affect future initiatives in Colorado.

“I think they’re distinct enti-ties, different states,” Vicente said. “I think if it would pass and was successful, I think it could create a model for other states and Colorado. If it fails, I think it could inspire people to work harder on this issue.”

Proponents of a similar initia-tive already are raising money to place a legalization measure on Colorado’s 2012 ballot.

The Legalize 2012 Project, which is led by medical mari-juana advocacy group the Cannabis Therapy Institute, has proposed a legalization model that wouldn’t limit pot pos-session or use. The model also wouldn’t subject marijuana to taxes beyond regular sales tax.

Vicente said in August that Sensible Colorado has begun fundraising and reaching out to local and national leaders for a 2012 legalization push of its own. He said the organization is starting to line up resources and endorsements and plans to have a website up and running by December.

Law enforcement reactionAs a young patrol officer for

the Aspen Police Department in 1967, Routt County Sheriff Gary Wall and another officer made the town’s first marijuana possession arrest. At the time, Wall thought pot would be legal within 10 years. Now more than 40 years later, he still thinks legalization is inevitable.

“I’m not advocating people

use marijuana,” he said. “It’s prolific in this town among all people in all age groups and professions. I can’t pretend to be this law enforcement guy who’s going to lock everyone up using marijuana. No. Nobody feels different about it than I do. It’s heading that way.”

Instead of pursuing crimi-nal charges for petty marijuana offenses, Wall said he’s taken an active role in the Routt County drug court, which works toward alternatives to incarceration for people with addiction problems. He said it’s been successful for people who buy into the program.

Wall also said the Sheriff’s Office has not seen an increase in crime since medical marijuana centers began operating here. He said his office hasn’t used additional resources, whether in dollars or time, to increase moni-toring or make more marijuana-related arrests.

Active ingredientsSix cannabinoids have been des-ignated as the most significant in plants used for medication.■ TetrahydrocannabinolThe most psychoactive cannabinoid, THC has the ability to alter behavior, mood perception and consciousness. THC causes the euphoric feeling. ■ CannabinolThis somewhat psychoactive cannabi-noid occurs when THC is exposed to light or heat. CBN causes drowsiness and reduces spasms.■ CannabicyclolCBL relieves pain and inflammation and is a promising antibiotic. ■ CannabidiolStudies have shown CBD to relieve inflammation, anxiety, nausea, high blood pressure and pain.■ TetrahydrocannabivarinTHCV is psychoactive, may treat diabetes and is being studied as an obesity medication.■ CannabigerolStudies have shown CBG to counter-act and prevent tumor growth.

Source: Full Spectrum Laboratories


the legalize 2012 Project, a group of medical marijuana proponents, is raising money to put a legalization measure on Colorado’s 2012 ballot.


Kush Magazine Publisher Michael lerner speaks to a group of more than 300 at the Medical Marijuana Business alliance’s network-ing meeting in august. he says Colorado is the country’s medical marijuana leader.


“I don’t have any hard and fast rules about this,” Wall said. “I don’t have any policies. My people, I expect them to use their judgment and discretion when they come across these things and do what’s reason-able. I’m not one to take a zero-tolerance approach for rel-atively minor things. Obviously, serious crimes are a different situation.”

In addition to concerns about the potential for increased crime, local law enforcement officials have expressed concern that the presence of medical marijuana centers makes access to the drug easier for youths.

“From our perspective, our primary concern — more than a concern about people getting medical marijuana cards that don’t need them — is it will end up in the hands of kids,” Steamboat Springs Police Chief JD Hays said.

Asked whether he thinks that has happened, Hays said, “So far, no.”

Hays, like Wall, said his office hasn’t dedicated additional resources to marijuana enforce-ment since the first centers opened in Steamboat. He said there hasn’t been any crime asso-ciated with the centers and they all passed compliance checks in May.

Front Range law enforcement agencies also are reporting no clear link between the presence of medical marijuana centers and higher crime rates.

A Sept. 14 story in the Colorado Springs Gazette reported “no evidence the industry — which boasts about 175 businesses in Colorado Springs — disproportionately attracts robberies and break-ins.”

During an 18-month period ending Aug. 31, the Gazette reported there were 41 criminal incidents at medical marijuana centers and grow operations: 33 burglaries, six robberies (burglar-ies with a threat of violence) and two cases of vandalism.

By comparison, the Gazette reported that there were 797 rob-beries of businesses and homes during an 18-month period ending June 30, the most recent statistics. The story stated that there were 4,825 burglaries of businesses and homes during the same period.

The Gazette cited a Colorado Springs Police Department spokesman who said the num-bers don’t indicate that a higher crime rate exists with medical marijuana centers but more time is needed to collect information about the industry.

The Denver Police Department came to a similar conclu-sion that no clear link existed between medical marijuana and increased crime in the city.

Values remain the sameSome Steamboat elected offi-

cials said the presence of medical marijuana centers hasn’t changed the community.

“I don’t think it has, in my mind,” Reisman said. “I think the core values of our community are many, many years in the making. Having (medical marijuana cen-ters) does not change those core values in six months or the core character in six months.”

Council President Hermac-inski said she’s heard positive comments about the businesses.

“When I compare it to other issues we’ve dealt with, I wouldn’t say it’s a particularly difficult one,” she said. “In terms of public input, it’s dog parks and Frisbee golf that fills the room. With medical marijuana, it was only the guys who wanted licens-es. … I’m not saying it’s not an important issue. But about how it’s resonating in the community, the only ones who show up are the licensed (center) owners.”

There are now three medical marijuana centers in Steamboat and five in Routt County, and more may be on the way, depend-ing on how the city amends its ordinance.

It doesn’t appear that the state’s medical marijuana indus-try is slowing down either, even though some officials, law enforcement officers and medical

professionals question the treat-ment and the potential for abuse within the industry.

And despite the statewide moratorium that will prevent new medical marijuana businesses from opening until July 1, 2011, the industry is expected to grow to an estimated 150,000 patients

by year-end, Rep. Massey said.The same type of growth

can be expected in Steamboat, with new patients motivating centers such as Rocky Mountain Remedies to continue expanding.

Quinn said the fact Steam boat’s medical marijuana centers have drawn little attention speaks to the

owners doing what the city asked.“Overall, I guess I would say

we don’t have giant marijuana leaves on Main Street,” he said. “They’ve operated under the radar. They’ve toed the line with the requirements from the city and Police Department. I guess I would say, so far, so good.”


routt County sheriff Gary Wall says his office has not seen an increase in crime since medical marijuana centers started popping up across the county last year. he also said his office hasn’t used additional resources to address potential medical marijuana issues.


d and C Medical Marijuana and therapeutic Massage operates in a small office building off u.s. highway 40. steamboat springs City Council member Jon Quinn says the medical marijuana centers in steamboat have followed the city’s regulations.


Want a feel for the varied response to Colorado’s booming medical mari-

juana industry? Just take a survey of how some Colorado mountain towns have reacted.

Here in Northwest Colorado, the city of Steamboat Springs allowed three medical marijuana centers to operate after creating an ordinance to regulate them. Two dozen miles west, the town of Hayden approved an ordinance prohibiting them.

In South Routt County, Oak Creek’s Town Board passed a request for a medical marijuana center on to its planning commis-sion, which allowed the business. Farther south, the town of Yampa surveyed its residents to figure out whether it should allow more marijuana centers after its first and only one closed.

Emotions ran high in Yampa last month when the Yampa Town Board convened to get community input on the subject.

Supporters cited the ability of medical marijuana centers to generate tax revenue for the town, while opponents pointed to the possibility of increased crime and the town’s lack of law enforce-ment. Opponents also said anyone with a medical marijuana card could travel to Oak Creek, where the center Mary’s operates.

The discussion was similar during Hayden Town Council meetings in May, July and August. More than 30 residents showed up at a May meeting in which the Town Council was asked to con-sider a request to amend Hayden’s land-use code to allow medical marijuana centers. Some of those in attendance said marijuana card-holders could travel to Steamboat, just as other residents have to travel to Steamboat or Craig to pick up their prescriptions.

Ultimately, Hayden’s Town Council did not allow medical marijuana businesses.

It wasn’t a matter of whether they would generate sales-tax revenue and operate under the radar, as Steamboat officials said the city’s centers have. Hayden residents and officials didn’t seem interested from the beginning.

“It’s been very adamant from the town; they don’t want any type of (centers), cultivation, none of it,” Hayden Mayor Lorraine Johnson said after the council voted unanimously Aug. 19 to prohibit the businesses.

A similar dichotomy exists between Breckenridge and Vail, two resort communities fewer than 40 miles apart.

Breckenridge has six medical marijuana centers. Vail has none after the town banned the busi-nesses with a council resolution.

Vail Mayor Dick Cleveland said Vail’s opposition was never a referendum on the efficacy of medical marijuana. Rather, he said the discussion was about whether the businesses would compromise the image of a family-friendly community that focuses on healthy lifestyles and participatory sports the town had worked so hard to create.

Cleveland said the council decided that Vail, a town of 80 percent second-home owners, didn’t need medical marijuana businesses.

“I think we made the right decision,” he said. “When I see ads in the paper advertising a free joint on your birthday, that just con-vinces me even more that wasn’t the image we wanted to project.”

Image also was a part of the discussion in Breckenridge, but it didn’t derail allowing medical marijuana businesses in town.

Breckenridge Mayor John Warner said he voted for Amend-ment 20 in 2000. He also said the Breckenridge Town Council approached medical marijuana centers favorably but cautiously. Before allowing the businesses to operate, the Town Council imposed a 90-day moratorium to draft rules.

At the same time, a citizens group led by a local attorney crafted a ballot initiative to legal-ize possession of as much as one ounce for adults 21 and older. The ballot initiative passed in November 2009 with 71 percent of residents supporting it.

Warner said Breckenridge has received positive and negative feedback. But he doesn’t think medical marijuana has changed the town.

“I don’t think we are becoming this marijuana-centered commu-nity.” Warner said. “I don’t think

we’re changing in a huge way. I don’t think the community has changed. I think we’re evolving.”

A similar evolution could be coming to Steamboat.

Steamboat City Council Presi-dent Cari Hermacinski said after more than a year of medical

marijuana centers operating here, she’s heard nothing but positive comments. New state legislation is requiring the city to amend its medical marijuana ordinance, and the revision could result in the city allowing more than three centers, she said.


Mountain-town dichotomyColorado municipalities choose their own medical marijuana destinies


Christine Manzanares speaks in favor of medical marijuana during a Yampa meeting, saying she did not notice any problems associated with the center in Yampa, which since has closed.


Yampa town Clerk Janet ray reads an opinion from a Yampa resident in favor of medi-cal marijuana during a sept. 15 public meeting.

Growing Pains

Documents

Transcript of Growing Pains