The Fremont County Board of Commissioners on Monday continued down the long path of county licensing for medical marijuana facilities in Fremont County already in operation and licensed by the State of Colorado. The Board approved medical marijuana licenses for another four existing state licensees.
Getting approval for county Optional Premises Cultivation (OPC) licenses were Today’s Health Care at 1015 Highway 115 in Penrose, Mile High Green Cross in Unit A of the former BikerTown store at 685 Highway 115 in Penrose, and Pure Intentions Wellness Center which operates next door at BikerTown on property identified as Unit B. Maggie’s Farm in the Country Green Shopette at the east edge of Cañon City received approval for a Medical Marijuana Center Pharmacy (MMC) license.
Bill Conkling said he had one complaint from another tenant about marijuana odors at Maggie’s Farm since moving there about a year ago. He said that was resolved and with tenant neighbors now on both sides of his business he has had no more complaints. Conkling said his retail MMC has a perfect record with the State and has his own legal team that comes down to do an in-house audit.
The Board of Commissioners did raise concerns with both licensees at BikerTown regarding complaints received from neighbors at the Coyote Coffee Den and the Gooseberry Patch about marijuana odors originating from the BikerTown site. Adam Zeigler said his Mile High Green Cross cultivation operation in Unit A is totally enclosed indoors and there is no outdoor ventilation that would allow marijuana odor to escape the building.
The Commissioners questioned Unit B licensee Jarod Doi at length about potential odors coming from either his greenhouse or his enclosed cultivation in Unit B. Doi said his enclosed operation in Unit B does circulate air from outdoors but blamed part of the odor as emanating from Ziegler’s operation on the other side of the wall. Doi said a wall separates the two but they use a common ventilation system.
Commission Chairman Ed Norden questioned Doi’s engineered odor mitigation system for the greenhouse as being nothing more than exhaust fans which exhaust the odors directly outdoors onto adjoining properties. The Commissioners approved Doi’s county OPC license on the condition that he get his engineering firm to produce a different odor mitigation system within 45 days that filters the air before it leaves the greenhouse and is circulated outdoors. Doi suggested a system that adds a scent of lilac to the exhaust air but the Commissioners said they want the marijuana odor filtered out not just covered up with lilac.