Boulder approves 9-month moratorium on marijuana businesses

No new medical marijuana businesses will be allowed to open in Boulder for at least nine months after the City Council unanimously approved extending a moratorium on the industry Tuesday night.

The city won't accept applications for medical marijuana business licenses until Nov. 9.

The council originally was considering a blanket six-month moratorium, but the leaders decided to extend the length of the ban to nine months and exempt existing businesses so they can make changes -- such as seek an expansion or relocation -- if needed. The exemption will kick in March 8.

"We have to be reasonable," Councilwoman Lisa Morzel said. "And I am not interested in destroying any businesses."

The council early last month approved a temporary moratorium to give officials time to review the city's laws and policies on the sale of the drug.

According to city records, Boulder now has 37 cultivation facilities, 32 dispensaries and six marijuana-infused product manufacturing sites. Twelve applications for new business licenses were submitted before the moratorium was enacted and will be reviewed.

City Attorney Tom Carr -- who said he wanted a yearlong moratorium -- told the council that his office has billed about $135,000 for nearly 2,000 hours of work on medical marijuana issues over the last few years. He suspects the fees being taken in from dispensaries don't cover all the city's expenses.

He said the moratorium is a "time-out" that will allow the city to possibly change the code to recuperate more of its costs. And he said his office is overworked in general.

"We are at a crisis point," he said. "We're working ridiculous hours."

He said all he wants is "a little time to be able to do this better."

Senior assistant city attorney Kathy Haddock added that workers in the office are "exhausted" and the city has "bent over backwards" to accommodate the marijuana industry so far.

Several dispensary owners and attorneys said a blanket moratorium would hurt businesses that have played by the city's rules.

"I'm not able to move, I'm not able to get investors, I'm not able to change any of my paperwork," said Mark Natichioni, owner of Good Humor Meds at 720 Pearl St. "It's basically put me out of business."

Timothy Rea, owner of Helping Hands Herbals, 2714 28th St., also urged the council not to impose the moratorium.

"We have done everything that was required of us," he said. "This is really an extraordinary burden to put on an industry that has been really good for the city."

Federal authorities recently ordered 23 dispensaries in Colorado to stop selling the drug within 1,000 feet of a school or face having their property seized and possible prosecution. The deadline for the shops to close is Feb. 27.

Thirteen Boulder businesses would be in violation of the federal law, but Carr, the city attorney, said he did not know of any Boulder dispensaries that received the letter.

Councilwoman KC Becker said she wants medical marijuana businesses that are close to schools to move, whether or not they received a letter from federal authorities.

"We should be encouraging them to move," she said.

The exemptions in the new moratorium will allow existing dispensaries to do just that.