• 21
  • June
    2010

The owners and operators of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city of Boulder, Colorado, are finding it considerably difficult to comply with the new rules and regulations signed into law by Governor Bill Ritter earlier this month.

From requiring medical marijuana dispensaries to grow at least 70 percent of their own supply and mandating a rather nebulous state licensing process to instituting a strict recordkeeping system, these new regulations have already caused a great deal of controversy.  In fact, it is estimated that roughly half of the state's 1,100 medical marijuana dispensaries will be forced to close their doors due to their inability to meet the rigid new requirements.
 
(Please see the June 1 post "Proposed Medical Marijuana Bills Already Creating Controversy" for more information). 

Medical marijuana dispensaries in the picturesque Colorado city of Boulder are doing all they can to ensure the survival of their businesses.

"When I look six months down the road, we're either going to be very successful because we made it through this, or we're going to be out of business," said the owner of one Boulder medical marijuana dispensary.

One of the new requirements that is causing the greatest difficulty for the owners of medical marijuana dispensaries is the 70 percent requirement. One Boulder medical marijuana dispensary owner estimated that it would cost his business upwards of $50,000 to implement a large-scale growing operation. Prior to the law, he supplied only 10 percent of his store's medical marijuana and purchased the rest from growers in the area.

In order to meet the 70 percent requirement, this owner is currently selling shares in his medical marijuana dispensary to his previous suppliers, essentially making them part owners of the business.

Other Boulder medical marijuana dispensaries are considering more creative measures, including changing their business model from large-scale operations to caregiver status.

Under the new Colorado laws, caregivers cannot supply medical marijuana to more than five patients. However, caregivers are generally exempt from many of the new regulations, including the strict recordkeeping requirements. This is significant because these detailed records could potentially expose the owner of a medical marijuana dispensary to criminal liability under federal law.

Expect many legal challenges throughout the upcoming year as the new medical marijuana regulations slowly evolve ...

Related Resources:   
• Boulder Pot Dispensaries Struggle with New State Rules on Medical Marijuana (The Boulder Daily Camera)