Loveland Dispensaries Forced To Close
Tuesday March 1st was the deadline for all medical marijuana dispensaries in Loveland Colorado to shut down their operations.
The Loveland city code enforcement officers and Loveland police officers made the rounds checking that the ordinance was being respected. The police visited all 14 known medical marijuana dispensaries on March first.One dispensary fell victim to this ban on medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation. Colorado Canna was apparently still open on the day the ban went into effect. One employee was issued a summons for violation of the City of Loveland's prohibition on cultivation and sales of medical marijuana. The City is clearly taking this deadline quite seriously.
Loveland dispensaries have been closing up shop and trying to make the best of a bad situation. A few dispensaries in other cities surely recieved some good deals on medical marijuana and shop related items. Running a medical marijuana dispensary in Colorado once again proves to be a challenging and costly investment for many.
A complaint was filed by attorney Robert Corry in Larimer County District Court in an attempt to keep the Loveland dispensaries open. The complaint was done in hopes of getting a temporary restraining order and eventually removing the restrictions on Loveland dispensaries. Many hope the success of a similar case in Louisville and the fact that medical marijuana is a Colorado Constitutional amendment will help sway the results of the pending lawsuit.
Last year HB 1284 was passed which allowed cities to ban medical marijuana cultivation and dispensaries. Loveland voters decided in November to make use of this legislation and send a strong message that medical marijuana was not welcomed in their town. It will be interesting to see how this stands up in apparant contrast to the State Constitution.