Transcript Marijuana Legalization Debate

The MILE HIGH CITY:
A Year Later…
Marley Bordovsky
Assistant Director
Prosecution & Code Enforcement
Denver City Attorney’s Office
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What challenges has Denver
confronted over the past 11/2 years
Why is there still a black
market for marijuana?
Open Blast Hash Oil
production
Non-licensed grows
Home grows
Pesticide contamination
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We’re still dealing with the same issues – but we’re a
lot smarter now…..
The black market isn’t going away.
Home grows are still a problem.
Non-licensed grows are fewer and harder to find.
Pesticide contamination isn’t going away either.
Our zoning and licensing decisions have created
unintended consequences for poorer neighborhoods
Advertising – some are pushing the limits.
Hemp – what’s the difference?
Social Consumption – ballot initiatives this November
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Think about your regulatory structure sooner rather than
later! Learn from others and anticipate the issues.
Build relationships with other agencies now. AS MANY
AS YOU CAN – city, state, industry, community, business.
It’s easier to start slow with a measured approach, than
to “put the toothpaste back in the tube” down the road.
Communication goes a long way – working groups,
industry bulletins, regular meetings.
If you’re going to take a stand on a regulatory or
enforcement decision, be ready to stand strong (because
it’s going to be a bumpy ride….).
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Pesticide contamination isn’t going away and the
federal government isn’t coming to the rescue:
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Denver Department of Environmental Health has broad
authority under our local ordinances to “take all measures
necessary to promote the health . . . of the city and its
inhabitants and visitors.” DRMC §24-16
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The state Department of Agriculture has authority over the use
of pesticides (not the contaminated crop) and can only issue a
cease and desist order
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The state Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) has authority
over the contaminated crop only if there has been a violation
of the Pesticide Applicator’s Act
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By the end of April 2015, we
put holds on more than
100,000 plants in 11 different
grows
Two days later, we were sued
They argued that the city
couldn’t prove the pesticides
were unsafe for human
consumption
Despite the fact that no
pesticide had ever gone
through EPA’s human health
risk assessment for use on
marijuana
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Three days, three toxicologists, CDA witnesses
EPA witness testified from Washington DC
The industry packed the courtroom
Judge ruled in favor of Denver – “Preventing the sale of
MJ plants containing a substance that may be harmful if
ingested by purchasers of the MJ until it can be
determined whether the substance is actually safe is
absolutely within the scope of the Department of
Environmental Health’s authority to protect public
health.”
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In the fall of 2015, Denver started investigating and
issuing recalls of MJ edibles and concentrates that were
on store shelves
All of these products tested positive for residues of
multiple pesticides
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“Largest pot recall yet: Mountain High Suckers pulls nearly
100,000 packages”
“Denver’s 13th marijuana recall in 13 weeks: Advanced
Medical Alternatives”
The recall is Advanced Medical Alternatives’ second in eight days —
and the 13th recall issued by the city of Denver’s Department of
Environmental Health in 13 weeks”
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Two MJ product manufacturers filed lawsuits
One settled with the city and destroyed all of the
contaminated product.
Challenged our lab results and authority. Again.
Claimed we “can’t prove these pesticides are unsafe.” Again.
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Last July, we had 1014 marijuana business licenses operating
out of 439 unique locations.
This July, we have ~1060 marijuana business licenses,
operating out of 490 unique locations.
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MARIJUANA IN DENVER:
SOME AREAS SATURATED Unbalanced pot landscape in
Denver raises concerns
A Denver Post analysis of marijuanarelated business license records shows
there are more than 600 entities
operating within city limits, including
medical and retail stores, cultivation
centers, edible manufacturers and
testing facilities. Businesses are
concentrated in the northern and
western areas of the city, mainly due to
zoning restrictions and available
warehouse space for cultivation
operations. The three neighborhoods
that house the highest number of
businesses are Elyria Swansea (78),
Northeast Park Hill (67) and Montbello
(52).
After two years of retail marijuana sales,
Denver communities of color and lower
income say they bear disproportionate
number of pot licensees
DENVER AND THE WEST
Marijuana business caps
could help neighborhoods,
council members say
Denver City Council considers proposals to
replace moratorium on new players in
industry
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Decisions made in 2013 about zoning and licensing of
marijuana business had huge negative consequences for
poorer neighborhoods in our city.
In the first four months of 2016, we passed three different
marijuana bills to address some of the issues.
Denver now has a CAP on the number of marijuana grow
and store locations that can exist in the city.
467 Total
 311 Grows
 226 Stores
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…we’re already over the cap….
All marijuana grows and MIPS will have to install odor
mitigation equipment (carbon filtration systems)
Omnibus bill (50 pages long) closed some of the loopholes
that were being exploited by the industry.
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Massive non-licensed grows had
popped up in warehouses all over
the city and presented huge public
safety concerns.
So, in Denver, you can’t grow more
than 36 marijuana plants on any one
zone lot in the city.
And, for this ordinance, “marijuana”
is defined as “all parts of the plant
of the genus cannabis . . . without
regard for cannabinoid
concentration levels.”
Which includes “industrial hemp”
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The Colorado Department of
Agriculture manages the state
industrial hemp program
There is no “hemp license”
and hemp is not tracked in the
METRC system from “seed to
sale”
But we’ve found that people
just start doing things until
they get caught and, recently,
DFD and DPD have found
several hemp cultivation and
extraction operations in city
warehouses
More lawsuits??
You can’t grow hemp or extract
from hemp in Denver. If we change
that, how do we avoid creating yet
another loophole for people to
game the system…..?
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For the second year in a row, we have
citizen-initiated ordinances to create MJ
consumption clubs – two of them are
set for our ballot in November
Both Amendment 64 and state law do
not allow the open and public
consumption of marijuana
So what happens if they BOTH pass?
Do we refuse to implement?
Do we implement and wait for the state
to sue us?
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Advertising Restrictions.
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Unlawful for any person to advertise MMJ or RMJ where the
advertisement is visible to members of the public from any
public place
Prohibits billboards, signs mounted on vehicles; hand-held or
portable signs; handbills, leaflets or fliers handed directly to a
person in a public place, left on a motor vehicle, or posted on
public or private property without consent of the property
owner
EXCEPT:
 Sign on same zone lot as the store/center which exists solely for the
purpose of identifying the location of the store/center
 Ads in magazines, newspapers, or other periodical of general circulation
 Ads which are purely incidental to the sponsorship of a charitable event
“Marijuana dispensary wants naming rights to
Mile High Stadium”
Rocky Mountain News - April 2, 2016 9:28 am ET
Marley Bordovsky
[email protected]
720-913-8057
Denvergov.org/MarijuanaInfo