The people who regulate Denver’s legal marijuana program asked the City Council to expand rules that would prohibit any new players from entering Denver’s largest market.
For two years, a city moratorium pointed at monetizing industry growth has given only existing medical marijuana businesses to open recreational marijuana shops, growing facilities or edible manufacturers.
New proposals submitted Tuesday by Denver’s marijuana policy office would keep the moratorium going for two more years.
A newly proposed moratorium would not permit any new applications for medical marijuana business licenses during the same time frame.
The intentions, of the city officials, are to hit the pause button and give them more time to evaluate the impact of the legal marijuana experiment.
The scope of the city’s proposal caught some marijuana supporters off guard, including at least one, attorney Christian Sederberg, who attended a city working group that served as a sounding board.
City officials state Denver has reached what they identify as a marijuana industry saturation point.
Ashley Kilroy, the marijuana policy director for Mayor Michael Hancock, states the city needs more time to gauge the effects of legalization prior to allowing further growth that could risk overproduction, possibly sending some legally-grown marijuana to the black market.
“We already have an abundance of marijuana products in Denver and marijuana businesses in Denver,” she stated, adding that the city is home to about 40percent of the state’s licenses.
He said his policy alliance group includes established businesses, marijuana advocates and people who have spent money on plans for prospective businesses in anticipation of Denver opening up its market in two months – not closing it to them for longer.
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