Colorado official works to regulate, legitimize medical marijuana industry
Jul 26, 2010 Online Issue
DENVER — When Matt Cook was coaxed out of early retirement to become Colorado’s chief revenue enforcer three years ago, he assumed his time would be spent overseeing the casinos, liquor stores and car dealerships he had been keeping an eye on for much of his career.
If he had hoped for a quiet few years before heading for the golf course, his timing could not have been worse.
Cook, senior director of enforcement at Colorado’s Department of Revenue, returned just as a new kind of business rolled into town promoting a controversial product. Medical marijuana was legalized a decade ago in the state, but retail-style dispensaries began springing up only in 2007.
The trickle of new outlets has turned into a flood. Officials think more than 1,100 dispensaries are operating statewide. As the numbers grew, dispensaries offered ever more cannabis strains, marijuana-infused products and delivery services.
When alarmed lawmakers decided they wanted to curb the burgeoning industry, all eyes turned to Cook. “It was last Christmas that I saw this was heading our way,” he said. “Merry Christmas.”
Tags: Boulder Colorado, legalize marijuana, marijuana, marijuana for medical use, marijuana laws, marijuana legalization, Medical Marijuana
Rules buy Boulder time on medical marijuana
Nov 15, 2009 Online Issue
For the next 140 days, any new medical-marijuana dispensaries opening up shop in Boulder must comply with a set of temporary regulations 
aimed at keeping the controversial businesses away from schools and from lining streets one after another.
The Boulder City Council early Wednesday morning voted 4-2 to approve an emergency ordinance outlining where newly licensed dispensaries can operate for the next four months.
That “timeout,” as some officials described it, sets the stage for city planners to study up on cannabis and draft long-term regulations for the growing industry.
The new rules require any dispensary that obtains a city sales-tax license to stay 500 feet away from schools and licensed day-care centers. The businesses also won’t be allowed to open in areas that already have three or more dispensaries within 500 feet.
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Boulder DA dismisses charges against medical marijuana patient
Oct 19, 2009 Online Issue
Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett dropped charges against a Nederland woman who faced felony drug charges stemming from 
her possession of marijuana for medical purposes.
Sherri Versfelt was arrested in July 2008 after police raided her home and found 50 marijuana plants. She had an expired medical marijuana registry card belonging to another patient and a previous diagnosis of a “severe debilitating medical condition” related to surgery as a teenager to remove a massive growth from her abdomen.
Versfelt spent 27 days in jail because she did not have the money to post bond. She was set to go to trial next week on felony charges of cultivation of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute, possession of 8 ounces or more of marijuana, and possession of oxycodone. The charges carry a maximum penalty of six years in prison.
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Tags: Boulder Colorado, Stan Garnett
