SIV3L
Well-Known Member
DENVER(AP) -- Colorado lawmakers have an unlikely ally in their first attempt to curb the state's booming medical marijuana industry: owners of the some of the shops that sell pot.
Many dispensary owners say they're on board with regulations if they give them uniform guidelines and avert a more severe crackdown like one approved this week in Los Angeles. Hundreds of Los Angeles pot shops face closure after the City Council voted Tuesday to cap the number of dispensaries in the city at 70.
The Colorado proposal - which a legislative committee approved 6-1 Wednesday - would make it more difficult for recreational pot users to become legal medical marijuana patients. It would bar doctors from working out of dispensaries, make it illegal for them to offer discounts to patients who agree to use a designated dispensary, and require follow-up doctor visits.
Most of the 150 people at the hearing opposed the bill. Many of them worry it will cost them hundreds of dollars on top of the $90 annual fee they pay to register as a medical marijuana user.
William Chengelis said he can't get his regular Veterans Administration doctors to sign off on medical marijuana and said buying pot illegally and paying the $100 fine would be cheaper than paying a private doctor for follow-up visits.
"I cannot afford this bill," Chengelis told lawmakers.
In response, the committee backed allowing the state to waive the $90 fee for those who can't afford it. Sponsor Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, said he would also see if there was a way to allow dispensaries to reimburse veterans for doctor visits.
So more regulation means more hurtles?
Doctors CANNOT give prescriptions from thier office anymore?
What does that mean for eye doctors? lol but seriously.
Many dispensary owners say they're on board with regulations if they give them uniform guidelines and avert a more severe crackdown like one approved this week in Los Angeles. Hundreds of Los Angeles pot shops face closure after the City Council voted Tuesday to cap the number of dispensaries in the city at 70.
The Colorado proposal - which a legislative committee approved 6-1 Wednesday - would make it more difficult for recreational pot users to become legal medical marijuana patients. It would bar doctors from working out of dispensaries, make it illegal for them to offer discounts to patients who agree to use a designated dispensary, and require follow-up doctor visits.
Most of the 150 people at the hearing opposed the bill. Many of them worry it will cost them hundreds of dollars on top of the $90 annual fee they pay to register as a medical marijuana user.
William Chengelis said he can't get his regular Veterans Administration doctors to sign off on medical marijuana and said buying pot illegally and paying the $100 fine would be cheaper than paying a private doctor for follow-up visits.
"I cannot afford this bill," Chengelis told lawmakers.
In response, the committee backed allowing the state to waive the $90 fee for those who can't afford it. Sponsor Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, said he would also see if there was a way to allow dispensaries to reimburse veterans for doctor visits.
So more regulation means more hurtles?
Doctors CANNOT give prescriptions from thier office anymore?
What does that mean for eye doctors? lol but seriously.