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Two competing questions that would either legalize recreational marijuana sales within Colorado Springs boundaries or outlaw them by city charter could end up on the November ballot, leaving residents with the power to decide once again.
Councilwoman Lynette Crow-Iverson on Monday introduced a proposed charter amendment seeking to prohibit retail marijuana establishments, such as stores and product, manufacturing, testing and cultivation facilities, from operating within city boundaries.
The council informally agreed to vote at a future regular meeting whether to send a question to voters in the fall that would amend the city charter. If voters approved, it would effectively ban recreational marijuana sales in Colorado Springs, City Attorney Ben Bolinger said Monday. Voters would only be able to change the city charter through another public vote.
At the same time, a committee of residents is working to submit enough valid signatures to petition a question onto the November ballot that proposes authorizing recreational marijuana sales within Colorado Springs boundaries. Currently, only medical weed can be sold in the city.
Under the residents’ proposal, only existing medical marijuana licensees in Colorado Springs could become licensed recreational pot businesses. Their proposal would also limit the number of retail marijuana licenses so they do not exceed the number of existing medical marijuana licenses in the city as of Nov. 5, the day of the general election.
The committee has already submitted 16,056 valid signatures, according to the City Clerk’s Office. The group has until the end of business on Aug. 9 to turn in the remaining 8,805 valid signatures needed to successfully petition the question onto the ballot.
Crow-Iverson said a charter amendment could put to rest the ongoing question about whether Colorado Springs will authorize retail marijuana sales locally. In 2022, voters declined to legalize recreational pot sales in city boundaries and she’s confident they will support her proposed charter amendment to outlaw it this year, she said.
“Two years ago, citizens said no to this question. Why would they change their minds in two years? But let’s let the voters decide,” she said in an interview following Monday’s non-voting work session.
Colorado Springs should ban retail marijuana sales to further solidify its designation as the permanent headquarters of U.S. Space Command, Crow-Iverson told The Gazette.
“We need to do everything we can do to keep it that way,” she said.
The Air Force decided last summer the command will remain in Colorado Springs instead of moving to Huntsville, Ala. The decision capped more than two years of wrangling by Colorado and Alabama officials after Donald Trump, former president and this year’s Republican presidential nominee, announced in the final days of his administration the command’s headquarters would move to Alabama.
If the government believes military servicemembers may have easier access to marijuana, it could hinder the city’s ability to keep Space Command here, she said.
“It’s easier access. Right now, you have to have a (medical marijuana card), you have to see a doctor and be diagnosed to get that card. There is a process. If there are recreational marijuana shops here, there is no process for purchasing marijuana,” Crow-Iverson said.
Among other concerns, Crow-Iverson is worried about the strong potency of recreational marijuana and believes children and others under the age of 21 could more easily consume it if it was sold locally. Authorizing the sale of retail pot could also affect public safety and strain police resources, which are already stretched thin, if officers have to respond to crimes or mental health crises where marijuana is a factor, she said.
“Kids do make choices based on perception and availability. This is about the safety and the welfare of our community,” Crow-Iverson said.
Meghan Graf, a spokesperson with the effort to allow the sale and regulation of retail marijuana in Colorado Springs, said the residents’ proposal is well-balanced and that’s why voters will approve it.
“Our ballot measure is smart and tough — it would allow retail marijuana to be sold only in existing medical marijuana stores, no new licenses to expand the number of stores are ever allowed, and tough protections that keep marijuana away from kids and schools are permanently codified into city,” Graf said in an emailed statement Monday. “We think voters will reject an attempt to ban marijuana and vote for our measure that imposes tough and smart regulation instead.”
Among other regulations, the residents’ proposed ballot question would ban retail marijuana businesses from operating within 1,000 feet of daycares, preschools and K-12 schools; prohibit any person at daycares, preschools and K-12 schools from possessing retail marijuana; and prohibit the sale or transfer of recreational marijuana to anyone under the age of 21. These regulations would be codified in city code and only another vote of the people could change them.
The council must vote twice to put the question onto the November ballot; those votes are scheduled to take place at the board’s regular meetings on Aug. 13 and Aug. 27, according to a timeline Crow-Iverson provided.
In the event residents approve retail marijuana sales, Crow-Iverson on Monday also introduced a proposed ordinance that would modify city code to prevent retail marijuana stores from operating within one mile of schools and residential child care and drug or alcohol treatment facilities. Currently, medical marijuana stores cannot operate within 1,000 feet of schools and child care facilities, City Attorney Bolinger said.
The Planning Commission could consider the ordinance at its Aug. 14 meeting. The council would then cast two votes on the ordinance at its regular meetings Aug. 27 and Sept. 10.
“}]] Two competing questions that would either legalize recreational marijuana sales within Colorado Springs boundaries or outlaw them by city charter could end up on the November ballot, leaving residents with the power to decide once again. Read More