It's scheduled to go before voters in 2013.
Dacono officials announced Monday that petitioners had collected 451 signatures. According to Brad Henson, manager of Dacono Meds (and part of the coalition working on the repeal), the number of signatures is about twice the amount needed. However, proponents were shooting to get to 500 -- or half the number of votes it will take to overturn the ban. Approximately 1,600 people in Dacono voted in the November election, he notes, with about 55 percent of them voting for Amendment 64.
Even so, Dacon's city council voted to ban dispensaries, grow operations and infused-product manufacturers in the roughly eight-square-mile town this past spring. At the time, officials said they were afraid that Dacono was turning into a medical marijuana hub for the communities northeast of Boulder.
The vote to repeal could be held as early as February -- but that's too late for the three dispensaries currently in Dacono. According to the current law, all three will have to shut down by December 31. Henson says his group plans to challenge that, but he declines to discuss what action will be taken. "A lot of people misunderstood [when the ban was taking place]. A lot of people jumped ship," he explains. "Business has been hurt because of the ban. Business is better now, but it's an up-and-down thing. We just want to provide safe access to our medicine."
Fort Collins voters overturned their town's dispensary ban last month, though former dispensary owners there have told Westword they're wary of moving back.
More from our Marijuana archive: "Marijuana tourism should bring Colorado a pot of cash, says travel guru Arthur Frommer" and "Amendment 64: Business organizations ask feds to clamp down on Colorado marijuana measure."
