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Dillon Town Council approves first reading of dual marijuana licenses

Dillon Town Council voted unanimously to approve the first reading of an ordinance allowing dual marijuana licenses. The council first discussed allowing current recreational marijuana establishments to expand and sell medical marijuana at a work session on Nov. 1.
Kailyn Lamb / klamb@summitdaily.com |

The town councils for Dillon and Silverthorne voted on marijuana ordinances during sessions early this week.

The town of Dillon discussed the first reading of an ordinance that would allow dual licenses within the town. If the ordinance passes, stores wishing to sell both medicinal and recreational products have to keep the two separated within the store. Jo-Anne Tyson, the town clerk, said that the ordinance was written so that both medicinal and recreational stores were able to sell to adults aged 21 and over. Medicinal products can be available to younger patients with a valid card, but it requires the store to have a separate entrance. The town set the fee for a dual license at $3,000.

The Dillon Town Council discussed dual licenses back in early November, deciding that they wanted to keep the town’s license cap at three stores. This means that instead of offering medical licenses to new stores, only current businesses could apply. Altitude Organic Cannabis, a chain of stores based out of Colorado Springs, mainly works with medicinal marijuana. Jessie Levy, the store manager in Dillon, joined with Tyson in getting information on medical users in the county to help the council make a decision. Aaron Bluse, the owner of Altitude, said that he was happy to see the council voting on an ordinance.



“We’re really excited about it. We’ve been really trying to push for it,” he said.

Alpenglow Botanicals on the other hand will not be applying for a dual license if the ordinance passes, said Cassie Williams, a marketing representative for the store.



“We as a company, we made a decision in 2014 to phase out medical from our stores with the goal of providing great products at affordable prices for everyone, not just those with medical cards,” Williams wrote in an email to the Summit Daily.

She added that the company wants to create a more inclusive environment for their customers. Alpenglow also has a store in Breckenridge.

Tyson said that the town is not looking at doing medical licenses individually.

“If one of our current licensees chooses not to go medical, that’s their choice and they can strictly stay retail,” she said.

Dillon’s third retail store, Native Roots, will wait and see if the ordinance passes before deciding, according to Tia Mattson, a spokesperson for the company.

The first reading was passed unanimously on Tuesday night by the council members present. Brad Bailey, Jennifer Barchers and Kyle Hendricks were absent.

The ordinance will go up for second reading and public hearing during the town council meeting on March 7. From there, Tyson said that it will be presented on March 17 if it passes the second reading, and will become part of town code 10 days later.

The town of Silverthorne has not looked at an ordinance regarding marijuana since October of 2015, when it approved an ordinance updating the regulation on medicinal and recreational sales. The council voted 3-2 Wednesday night in favor of an ordinance on marijuana transporter licenses, with Bob Kieber and Russ Camp voting against the measure.

Ryan Hyland, the town manager of Silverthorne, told the council at Tuesday’s work session that the ordinance was written to keep up-to-date with a bill that was passed during the state legislative session last year.

Governor John Hickenlooper signed House Bill 16-1211 in June last year. The bill allows for people with a marijuana transporter license to store and transport marijuana between registered businesses. The state began accepting applications for licenses at the beginning of this year. The bill also states that the transporter license does not allow the holder to make marijuana sales at any time.

The ordinance in Silverthorne would allow the town to recognize marijuana transporter licenses and allow the holder to operate within town limits. Town staff has also recommended that the ordinance be restricted to people with a valid Colorado license.


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