Marijuana Business Licensing and Regulations

Ballot questions 2A and 2B passed regarding marijuana taxes and businesses. View election results here. 

This page is the official source for information regarding marijuana business licensing and will be updated as new information becomes available. Interested persons will be directed to this page to receive updates.

Marijuana Business Regulations - An Introduction

During the June 7 workshop, City Council heard a summary of previous listening sessions and survey results. This information was used to provide direction to staff as they prepare recommended regulations for Council's consideration. Council supported exploring zoning, buffering and overlays as a way to manage the number of eligible stores, no longer needing a selection process for operators. Council supported a 5% taxation rate of stores and supported their location generally within commercial zones, excluding Main Street between 1st Street and 8th Street. A request was made for a recommendation from the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) regarding the number of allowable stores downtown. A request was also made for a recommendation from Western Colorado Community College (WCCC) regarding buffering from its main campus. 

Upcoming Public Meetings/Hearings

Over the coming weeks and months, staff will be working with the City’s appointed and elected officials to develop the next steps regarding marijuana licensing and permitting of marijuana-related businesses. Any consideration for the adoption of local regulations will be heard at a public hearing(s). Upon scheduling, meeting dates will be listed below:

• July 19 | City Council Workshop at City Hall (250 N 5th Street) | 5:30 p.m.
• July 21 | City Council Meeting at City Hall (250 N 5th Street) | 5:30 p.m. - View the agenda here

Marijuana Business Licensing

Marijuana businesses (except for testing facilities) remain prohibited land-uses under the City’s Zoning and Development Code.

No licenses or license applications have been made available to potential marijuana business owners by the passage of this legislation. Further action by City Council would be required to license marijuana businesses. The official State web portal for marijuana regulations in Colorado can be accessed here.

Use of Marijuana Funds

The passage of 2A and 2B constitutes a new funding source to support enforcement and implementation related to the new marijuana-related businesses that will be coming to the community. Revenue from retail marijuana is also dedicated to build, operate and maintain the highest priorities in the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Master Plan, which was adopted by City Council on January 6, 2021. A summary of the plan, as well as the full plan, is found at http://www.gjparksandrec.org.

The PROS plan, driven by community engagement, lays out over $157 million in projects and priorities for the next 8 to 10 years. Since this new revenue stream will take many months to establish, funds for the PROS projects will not be available for several months. The City will follow the regular budgetary process for considering capital projects city-wide, including parks and recreation. Priorities in the PROS plan will be folded into the 2022 budgeting process, as well as subsequent annual budgets, and the new funding source will enable deeper and more rapid progress towards those priorities.