Action Alert:
Final Hearing
Denver City Council Caregiver Ban
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CALL AND EMAIL THE DENVER CITY COUNCIL
Tell them to vote "NO" CB-607, Medical
Marijuana Zoning Changes
Call Denver City Council
720-865-9534
Public Hearing Monday on Denver City Council Caregiver Ban
For immediate release: October 25, 2010
Press Contact:
Jake Browne, General Manager, The Releaf Center, Denver
Cannabis Therapy Institute 1-877-420-4205
{Denver} -- The Denver Releaf Center is leading the charge to protect
the ability of patients and caregivers to grow an adequate supply
of medicine in the City of Denver. The Denver City Council is meeting
on Monday (10/25) for a final hearing on CB10-0607, a bill restricting
growing
of medical marijuana in residential districts in Denver. Click here
to read the Denver Releaf Center's letter to the Denver City Council.
The Denver Releaf Center is a sponsor of the Cannabis Therapy Institute's
Patient Advocacy Project. Help patients, become a sponsor:
http://www.cannabistherapyinstitute.com/donate.html
Please copy and redistribute!
CALL AND EMAIL THE DENVER CITY COUNCIL
Tell them to vote "NO" CB-607, Medical Marijuana Zoning
Changes
Call Denver City Council
720-865-9534
Final Reading
Medical Marijuana Zoning Changes
Denver City Council Meeting
When: Mon., Oct. 25
Time: Council Meeting starts at 5:30 pm
Where: Council Chambers, Room 450
City & County Building
1437 Bannock Street, Denver, CO
On the west side of the Civic Center Park.
Format: This will be the only opportunity for public comment.
BACKGROUND
The Denver City Council will discuss CB10-0607, a bill restricting
growing of medical marijuana by zoning districts in the city. It
would essentially eliminate the ability of a person to be a caregiver
and provide cannabis for another person not living in the same house
with them.
Excerpts from the bill:
The growing of medical marijuana shall comply with the following:
(1) The resident must be registered with the state as a patient
(2) No more than 6 plants per registered resident may be grown and,
cumulatively, no more than 12 plants may be grown for each dwelling
unit in the structure
(3) When there are multiple units in a single building, medical
marijuana cannot be grown or stored in common areas; and
(4) All medicinal marijuana must be grown inside a completely enclosed
structure.
area associated with the dwelling unit.
Tell the City Council to vote "NO" CB-607, Medical Marijuana
Zoning Changes
and continue to allow safe access for patients and caregivers in
Denver.
Contact the Denver City Council
Denver City Council Main Office
Phone: 720-865-9534
Fax: 720-865-9540
Email: dencc@denvergov.org
Web: http://www.denvergov.org/CityCouncil
Remember to cc us on any correspondence with lawmakers: info@cannabistherapyinstitute.com
Watch Online
City Council meetings are televised live on cable TV Channel 8,
and can be viewed on the Internet:
www.denvergov.org/denver8tv/
LETTER FROM THE RELEAF CENTER
Dear City Council,
My name is Jake Browne, and I'm the General Manager of The Releaf
Center at 2000 W32nd Ave (District 9). I'd like to commend the council
for continuing to revisit medical marijuana regulation in the city
of Denver. Unfortunately, I feel you are moving in the wrong direction
with CB10-0607. Please allow me to add another perspective to this
discussion.
The magic number of 12 plants is somewhat deceiving. To be compliant
with Amendment 20, a patient or caregiver has to keep six of those
plants in a vegetative state, meaning only six plants are in a flowering
stage. Flowering takes roughly nine weeks when you account for cutting
plants down, trimming them and curing the buds. During that process,
in any stage, you can experience significant crop loss. You'll need
to keep a mother plant, or two, if you want both indica and sativa
strains. Those mothers count against the number of plants in vegetative
state, meaning every other crop you'll only have four plants producing...
only three if you want to have a male plant on hand for breeding,
and even fewer if you have clones available. In the simplest terms,
a caregiver can grow six plants that can be smoked in 9 weeks, have
four plants "on deck" and two mothers that serve no purpose
other than to provide future plants from cuttings. That's not a
lot of marijuana by any stretch of the imagination.
HARM: more vulnerable to crop loss, less medicine than plant numbers
indicate
Large amounts of plant material are used to produce infused products
and extracts. These products are key for all patients, particularly
those suffering with cancer, who need a safe alternative to smoking
raw plant material. Having reduced plant counts would either reduce
the potency of these infused products or drive patients in the most
dire circumstances to smoking. Additionally, patients in public
housing could be evicted if they were left no recourse other than
"lighting up."
HARM: Increased smoking rates, decreased potency of infused products,
evictions
Under HB10-1284, patients must now wait 35 days from the day they
mail in their recommendation before they are allowed to purchase
medicine from an MMC. Since we no longer receive our protection
from Amendment 20 as caregivers, we are now only legally protected
by 1284 and cannot raise an affirmative defense to assist patients.
Primary caregivers would then be a patient's only option for that
first month. This proposal would essentially eliminate the caregiver
in Denver, driving patients out of the city or completely restricting
their access to medicine.
HARM: Eliminates patient access for first 35 days, decreased revenue
in Denver
Councilman Linkhart was the only member I heard yesterday question
the notion of plant restrictions, making the analogy to a tomato
plant. We applaud him for his sensible approach to regulation. Another
great example of a fairly unregulated home industry would be basement
brewing. If you've never had the opportunity to smell hops during
a brew process, it's hard to say it's distinctly less offensive
than the fragrance of marijuana. Alcohol is a highly regulated substance
that can be produced with no oversight, even with much greater potential
risk (such as food poisoning) for someone being seriously harmed.
HARM: Uneven application of local law
Now, to your case...
Of the harms I've heard presented by the council, the most prevalent
seems to be the "not in my backyard" mentality. For example,
the times council members spoke on "group sessions" and
patients "traipsing around" yesterday. I was /ashamed
/to see how many of our elected officials laughed at the characterization
that these patients with debilitating medical conditions are some
kind of "silly stoners" out to lower neighborhood property
values because of their constitutionally protected choice to use
cannabis therapeutically. This couldn't be further from the truth.
In my experience, patients see a caregiver because they can't afford
to shop at MMC's. I've recommended quite a few patients to private
caregivers. Why is there such a dramatic difference in price? Under
HB1284, a primary caregiver cannot sell a product for anything *above
cost*. Yes, you read that correctly. They don't make a dime off
of the medical marijuana they sell. Councilwoman Faatz jokingly
referred to caregiving not as an occupation, but more like "charity."
You're right,
Jeanne. While they can charge for wellness services provided, that's
hardly enough to support a person while they also tend to a garden.
But, let's have an honest discussion about this "foot traffic"
issue. If a caregiver has five patients, and each stop by three
times a week, that's around two people coming to a house a day.
Hardly outrageous.
What if all five patients stopped by on the same day for one of
those "group sessions" that was joked about yesterday?
My neighbors have at least that many people over every Sunday for
a Broncos game. I'm far more concerned by their blood alcohol level
as they leave than I am about a caregiver who is helping people
with serious medical conditions.
The real issue with people coming and going isn't about people
in compliance, it's about caregivers who aren't. That makes this
an enforcement issue, which means this reaction is misguided. Plant
levels have nothing to do with whether people choose to ignore state
law; you simply punish those who do.
HARM MITIGATED: Foot traffic isn't a plant issue - it's a compliance
issue, harm overstated
We've heard a lot about how "dangerous" a home growing
operation is, but there has yet to be a single fire in the state
of Colorado attributed to medical marijuana. As Robert Chase pointed
out yesterday, this same amount of electricity powers many home
appliances, such as space heaters. Even if these lights were a ticking
time bomb, inspectors conceded yesterday that they won't even do
electrical inspections, leaving us no better than where we started.
In reference to "booby traps" in Canada, the only reports
describe a group of 14 wild black bears lured near an outdoor grow
using dog food. If there is additional evidence presented later,
I think this would be worth more discussion.
HARM MITIGATED: Not evidence based, no proposed solution
How many plants is too many plants? The numbers that were discussed
yesterday seemed to be pulled from thin air. I'm assuming, for posterities
sake, none of the council members have ever cultivated marijuana,
so let me shine some light on indoor growing. Limits on the number
of plants will accomplish very little. Plants can be "topped",
a technique that provides additional buds, multiple times that essentially
provide extra plants. Additionally, multiple plants can be grafted
on to a "host" plant that shares the same root structure,
which is also completely legal.
HARM MITIGATED: No proposed solution
If we can't restrict the number of plants or the quantity of cannabis
a caregiver is providing, what's a logical solution? Define the
amount of space that they can grow in. While Mr. Chase and I have
been on the opposite sides of many debates, I urge you to consider
his recent proposal of 80 square feet, up to 240 square feet with
approval. Not only does this give inspectors a clear, enforceable
number, but it's a reasonable space for a caregiver to cultivate.
If this is a code issue, let's treat it as such, not zoning. If
this is about foot traffic in residential neighborhoods, let's give
caregivers a framework to work within and find those who abuse the
system. If this is about outrage in the community that the sick
and dying can have access to medical cannabis, let's protect the
constitutional rights of the latter before bowing to the former.
But let us never forget that there are seriously ill people who
are dramatically effected by the decisions you make on medical marijuana.
For them, this is no laughing matter.
Sincerely,
Jake Browne
The Releaf Center, LLC
2000 W 32nd Ave.
Denver, CO 80211
-----
(303) 458-LEAF(5323)
http://www.thereleafcenter.com
---
Provided as a Public Service by the:
Cannabis Therapy Institute
P.O. Box 19084, Boulder, CO 80308
Phone: 877-420-4205
Web: www.CannabisTherapyInstitute.com
Email: info@cannabistherapyinstitute.com
Remember to cc us on any correspondence with lawmakers: info@cannabistherapyinstitute.com
Watch Online
City Council meetings are televised live on cable TV Channel 8,
and can be viewed on the Internet:
www.denvergov.org/denver8tv/
Denver City Council Meetings
Time: Council Meeting starts at 5:30 pm
Where: Council Chambers, Room 450
City & County Building
1437 Bannock Street, Denver, CO
On the west side of the Civic Center Park.
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