Colorado Judge Upholds City’s Ban on Marijuana-Related Businesses

A District Court judge in Boulder County, Colorado has ruled that the city of Longmont may enforce its ban on medical marijuana businesses, despite the fact that medical marijuana is permitted under Colorado state law. In her decision, she ruled that local communities may ban medical marijuana dispensaries because such businesses do not have a right to operate under Amendment 20 of the Colorado constitution. She also ruled that the businesses have no protected property interest that could be guarded by injunction.

Judge Ingrid Bakke, who issued the August 19 ruling, said that she sympathized with the owners of the local dispensaries, but that they were “very much victims of developing law that, even to this day, is in a very gray area”. As communities in several states with medical marijuana laws continue to pass their own local bans, this ruling serves as another reminder that legalization at the state level can be practically undone by local lawmakers.

The Longmont City Council officially voted to ban all marijuana-related businesses in May of this year, with the ban set to take effect on July 1. The ban was first challenged by a failed attempt to put the ban on the November ballot as a referendum, and then by the lawsuit. A temporary restraining order against the enforcement of the ban was in effect until the judge’s ruling.

Derek King, co-owner of one of the dispensaries, expressed his disappointment in the ruling, but added that his business closed down immediately in response to the judge’s ruling, explaining that the owners did not want to risk prosecution. Longmont City Attorney Eugene Mei said that he was pleased with the ruling, which meant that the strategy of the Longmont City Council to ban marijuana-related businesses “has come to fruition”.