DENVER — The City Council in Denver voted Monday night to close what members called a dangerous loophole in marijuana laws.
Opponents to the plan said the city’s concern is more about money than safety, and they’re likely to take the city to court.
The new law limits the number of plants grown in “pot-growing collectives” to 36.
The city says many of the collectives have unsafe conditions.
Collectives are large, non-residential and non-commercial marijuana grows that are described as places for people who can’t or don’t want to grow their own pot at home.
There are about 60 pot collectives in Denver. The city says the numbers of them are increasing rapidly. Some have thousands of plants.
Denver officials said they found problems like fire hazards and unsafe building materials and construction. Additional problems include public safety concerns and illegal sales.
Rob Corry’s law firm has helped set up marijuana-growing collectives. He point to the passage of Amendment 64 and said the proposal before Council Monday night is unconstitutional. “This is our personal right under the constitution,” he said.
Corry scoffed at the city’s safety concerns. “The safety rationale is just laughable. That was invented by city council.”
He said the real issue is money. “The city has been quite honest about the fact that it wants more tax revenue and it wants to eliminate anything it can’t tax.”
He vowed to sue if the collective limit on the number of plants passed, which it did.
“I think it’s going to result in litigation and it’s going to result in expensive litigation and it’s going to result in litigation I think the city is not going to prevail on.”