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City Council <br />Meeting Minutes <br />December 17, 2013 <br />Page 10 of 24 <br />marijuana is not an exception for some individuals and may lead to chronic mental <br />health problems. She stated although there may be tax collected from the sale of <br />marijuana, there may be a substantial outlay of money to care for people who develop <br />substance abuse problems. One concern is the type of marijuana produced today has <br />a much higher concentration of more psycho- active ingredients. This is a major <br />concern for persons in their teenage years because any substance, including marijuana, <br />impairs the development of their brain. Marijuana effects memory, it prevents short <br />term memories from long term memory storage. She asked Council to consider the <br />information she provided. <br />Tracy Haley, Louisville, CO voiced her support for marijuana legislation. She stated if <br />alcohol is allowed in the City, marijuana should also be allowed. She stated marijuana <br />is less destructive than alcohol and felt alcohol tends to produce violence, whereas <br />marijuana does not. She suggested having at least as many retail marijuana stores as <br />there are liquor stores and as many cultivation operations as there are breweries. She <br />felt the Colorado Tech Center could provide an opportunity for cultivation. She felt the <br />youth consumption would be more controlled in retail stores where ID's are scanned. <br />She asked Council to consider the points she brought up. <br />Health Harmon, Director of Programs for the Boulder County Public Health Department, <br />3415 N. Broadway, Boulder, CO, provided information about the health department's <br />position relative to marijuana's harmful impact to the youth. He stated a few years ago, <br />they conducted a comprehensive health assessment for Boulder County, which focused <br />on improving the health of all Boulder County residents. Three areas rose to the top: 1) <br />substance abuse, 2) healthy eating and 3) active living. <br />Substance abuse was not strictly focused on marijuana; it also included alcohol and <br />misuse of prescription drugs. They compared data for alcohol and tobacco to translate <br />recommendations for marijuana. Their focus is on the impacts to the youth community <br />and the long lasting impacts on their brains during the development period. He <br />explained the level of impairment does not go after away after the usage of marijuana <br />stops. He applauded the efforts of the Council to regulate marijuana. He offered his <br />support and the recommendations for limiting the hours of operations; prohibiting <br />market and distribution with logos; prohibiting coupons, free or give away and requiring <br />scanners to verify age. He did not feel the recommendations were at odds with <br />Amendment 64. <br />He addressed the option concerning marketing and promotional hats and T- shirts and <br />noted there are studies demonstrating youth use is likely to increase when receiving <br />those promotional items. He stated with respect to the first amendment question, the <br />option provided language directly from the Food and Drug Administration and so there <br />is precedence. He noted many liquor stores are opting for scanners to verify age. The <br />City of Boulder and Boulder County do require scanners in their regulations. With <br />respect to the recommendation for the hours of operations, the City of Boulder, Boulder <br />County and Denver County have the same hours of operations. <br />39 <br />