Associated Press – March 4, 2009 8:04 PM ET

DENVER (AP) – A rulemaking hearing on proposed changes to the state medical marijuana registry program is being postponed, likely until June.

The State Board of Health hearing was scheduled for March 18, but health officials said Wednesday that the board is now seeking a larger venue because of significant public interest in the issue.

Colorado law says patients under a doctor’s care who get a medical marijuana card can legally possess small amounts of the drug. As of the end of January, 5,051 patients had valid cards.

Proposed changes to the registry program include limiting primary caregivers to five marijuana patients and requiring notarized signatures on applications.

The public can submit written comments to the board until May 15.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted by Ashby Jones

Opening-day is still a month away. The Dow is nearly at a 12-year low. The snow is blowing horizontally up and down the eastern seaboard, and Giselle is officially off the market.

It’s time to talk about marijuana.

Under President Bush, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency undertook several raids on marijuana dispensaries in California. The raids cast into sharp relief the gulf between California state law, which has legalized the distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes, and federal law and enforcement policy under the Bush administration, which was decidedly less tolerant.

But under President Obama, the scenario might well be changing. According to this recent San Francisco Chronicle article, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is sending strong signals that President Obama – who as a candidate said states should be allowed to make their own rules on medical marijuana – will end raids on pot dispensaries in California.
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By Katharhynn Heidelberg
Daily Press Senior Writer

MONTROSE, CO – Despite some fallout, William Hewitt says he remains committed to helping medical marijuana patients in Montrose.

Hewitt, a medical marijuana patient and caregiver as provided for under Amendment 20, spoke to the Daily Press about his home-based dispensary a few weeks ago. Now, he’s partnering with Gregg Davis of Grand Junction, and both men hope to open storefronts, with ambitious plans to help others.

Hewitt said Monday that he took down the signs at his Montrose home at the request of his landlord, but still is able to provide medical marijuana to people with valid prescriptions. A friend of his ” who does not use pot ” became so worried about federal raids, that he no longer stops by Hewitt’s home.

Montrose resident William Hewitt holds a leaf from one of his marijuana plants at his home in early February. (William Woody / Daily Press File Photo)

“But people are so, so thankful for what we’re doing here,” Hewitt said, telling of hundreds of calls seeking information.

Davis, a medical pot patient for three years, has been researching opening a dispensary in Grand Junction for the past six months, and is assembling a team, plus hiring an attorney, to help him with the business plan.

“When Bill (Hewitt) came out in the paper, I was, ‘Well, the public knows,’” Davis said. He then contacted Hewitt.

To date, the men have registered Hewitt’s “THC with TLC” as a Web domain name and the site will be up and running soon. Davis hopes to secure storefront property for his Grand Junction dispensary on Patterson, while Hewitt is eyeing a downtown location for his smaller office.
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