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Marijuana: Adams County Holds Pot-License Lottery, Wheat Ridge OKs Regs, Pueblo Delays

The city councils of Wheat Ridge and Pueblo held meetings last night to determine the fate of proposed cannabis restrictions in their respective cities, but only one of them ended with a resolution. Meanwhile, Adams County is scheduled an afternoon announcement for the first ten dispensaries to be licensed there.

See also: Obama Predicts More States Will Try Colorado's Pot Experiment

The Wheat Ridge City Council ended months of speculation Monday night by unanimously passing measures that put a cap on the number of cannabis dispensaries in the city and expand the minimum distance allowed between marijuana facilities and schools and other city buildings.

The cap for medical and retail marijuana shops in Wheat Ridge is five; for cannabis-product manufacturers, it's three. That happens to be the exact number of marijuana businesses in the city at present. Any future marijuana operations cannot be located within 1,000 feet of a city park, school, substance-treatment facility or child care facility. Dispensaries must also be at least three-quarters of a mile away from each other.

Wheat Ridge pot businesses already in existence aren't subject to the new restrictions.

Pueblo's City Council, which was scheduled to decide on marijuana home-grow limitations and new caregivers rules, postponed its vote until February 23. Only four of the City Council's seven members were present at the meeting, with members John Cordova and Eva Montoya absent and a one seat currently up for election.

The new rules would determine whether Pueblo citizens could grow cannabis in their homes or be restricted to growing in a separate enclosed structure on their property. Limits on home-grown medical marijuana for patients living on the property are also being considered, as is a possible requirement for caregivers to register with the Pueblo Police Department.

Wheat Ridge and Pueblo aren't the only metro areas making pot decisions this week. Adams County will announce ten recipients for retail dispensary licenses today at 3 p.m. There are over 1,500 hopefuls after the three-week span of applications.

Interested to see who wins the first ever Adams County pot lottery? Watch the live stream below:

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Thomas Mitchell has written about all things cannabis for Westword since 2014, covering sports, real estate and general news along the way for publications such as the Arizona Republic, Inman and Fox Sports. He's currently the cannabis editor for westword.com.
Contact: Thomas Mitchell

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