Politics
Auditor Slams Denver’s Medical Marijuana Program
An audit of Denver’s Medical Marijuana program has determined the city does not have the “basic control framework” in place and recommends a system overhaul “before the current problems are exacerbated by a new surge of recreational marijuana license applications.”
The report, released Thursday, states the city’s medical marijuana records are “incomplete, inaccurate, and at times inaccessible” and goes on to criticize other elements of the program citing a lack of formal policies within the licensing process as well as an arbitrary licensing fee.
Colorado voters legalized the use of medical marijuana in 2000, but did not begin regulating medical marijuana dispensaries until 2010 when the state legislature passed the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code. Dispensaries in Colorado must obtain a medical marijuana license from the state as well as from local entities.
The auditor’s report recommends the city solve the problems present in its medical marijuana program before businesses selling recreational marijuana, allowed by Amendment 64, begin to arrive in 2014.