Pot is burning topic at Capitol

DENVER — Lawmakers will likely be asked to back rules regulating the
hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries that have popped up in
Colorado, rather than trying to get rid of them.

Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, plans to introduce a bill next week
that would require criminal background checks for people selling medical
marijuana, along with regular inspections and audits of the businesses.
The details are still being worked out, but Massey and the bill's
co-sponsor, Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, say they would also like to
convert dispensaries into clinics. Clinics typically have doctors and
nutritionists on hand to treat patients, and Romer said many
dispensaries could still decide to close rather than convert.

Massey had considered limiting the number of people medical marijuana
suppliers serve to five or 10, which would have shut down dispensaries
that many medical marijuana users have come to depend on. With the
numbers of registered users growing, Massey said he wanted to make sure
people who need the drug are able to have access to it.

Demand is growing so fast for medical marijuana cards that officials
aren't sure how many people now have them. At least 17,000 do, but
another 20,000 or so have applied and are waiting for approval. At the
current rate, analysts expect 75,000 people to apply in the next fiscal
year. Lawmakers are concerned that some of the growth is coming from
recreational users who have gotten a doctor's permission to use the
drug.

Massey's approach is opposed by Attorney General John Suthers, who fears
passing any regulation of dispensaries will legitimize them. He said
voters didn't sanction the commercial growth and sale of marijuana when
they passed Amendment 20 in 2000.

Amendment 20 allows people who suffer from severe pain and debilitating
medical conditions, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV and multiple
sclerosis, to use marijuana in private once they get a doctor's note and
register with the state, paying a $90 fee and receiving a card.

The law doesn't address how patients obtain their marijuana and it
doesn't mention dispensaries, which have grown since the Obama
administration said it wouldn't target medical marijuana users in states
that allowed it.

Suthers said lawmakers should leave dispensaries alone and voters could
pass another measure to get rid of them later.

Massey said lawmakers have to deal with the situation as it is now, as
well as make sure Amendment 20 is respected.

"The status quo is not good for us at this point," he said.

Romer said it was time to "stop the 30-year war on drugs and have
commonsense ground rules."

On Friday, the full Senate is expected to vote on another proposal aimed
at preventing recreational marijuana users from getting permission to
become legal users of medical marijuana.

The measure (Senate Bill 109) would require doctors to give medical
marijuana patients a full exam and provide follow-up care. The bill
would also bar doctors from setting up shop in dispensaries.

People who are convicted of a crime would also lose their medical
marijuana cards, which must be renewed annually.

Romer believes that as many as a third of the current users would be
unable to get their cards renewed under the proposed new rules.