{"id":20560,"date":"2019-12-14T08:14:07","date_gmt":"2019-12-14T15:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/?p=61875"},"modified":"2019-12-16T08:19:42","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T15:19:42","slug":"pros-and-cons-letters-favor-marijuana-dispensary-outside-granby-by-over-3-1-ratio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/local-news\/pros-and-cons-letters-favor-marijuana-dispensary-outside-granby-by-over-3-1-ratio\/","title":{"rendered":"Pros and Cons: Letters favor marijuana dispensary outside Granby by over 3-1 ratio"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
A sandwich board outside a marijuana dispensary in Tabernash alerts drivers there isn’t another dispensary for 100 miles. While the sign is not IgadI’s, the company based in Tabernash has filed to open another retail store outside of Granby, about 12 miles away from Tabernash.<\/strong>
Eli Pace \/ epace@skyhinews.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Letters submitted to the Grand County Commissioners ahead of the cancelled IgadI dispensary hearing highlight the main arguments from sides for and against the recreational marijuana dispensary.<\/p>\n

Originally scheduled for Nov. 12, the canceled hearing was for a new IgadI location at 843 W. Agate Ave, which sits on unincorporated county land just west of Granby. The hearing was delayed over a question with the property lease<\/a>.<\/p>\n

David Michel, general counsel for IgadI, said in November that the company had not withdrawn its application. The hearing has not yet been rescheduled.<\/p>\n

However, citizens in Granby and across Grand County have expressed strong opinions on recreational marijuana and the proposed location.<\/p>\n

The county received 78 letters and emails in support of the IgadI location and 22 against it. The letters came from citizens in Granby and residents around the county.<\/p>\n

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A word cloud of the letters written in favor of the IgadI dispensary. Size indicates how often words were used in total. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Eight letters in favor of the location mentioned Red Dirt Hill, pointing out that the proposed marijuana shop would reduce trips over a strip of US Highway 40 considered dangerous by many in the county.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be extremely helpful if I had a dispensary closer to home,\u201d a Grand Lake resident wrote. \u201cI now have to drive 40 minutes to Fraser and over Red Dirt Hill, which we all know is a death trap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seven of the pro-IgadI letters also referenced the distances needed to drive to dispensaries and the fact that often Summit County is a more convenient place to buy marijuana products.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am in favor of the new IgadI,\u201d a Kremmling resident wrote. \u201cIt would save me 26 miles round trip. It would keep me from shopping in Summit County.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tax revenue generated by marijuana shops was referenced 12 times by letters in support.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn general, I don\u2019t understand why any legal business would not be permitted to operate in Grand County,\u201d another county resident wrote. \u201cSince when is our community wealthy enough to refuse tax-generated revenue?\u201d<\/p>\n

Another popular argument highlighted the presence of alcohol sales in Granby, and a few letters reasoned that marijuana should be treated similarly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that it is the job of parents to educate and monitor their children \u2014 the exact same way that our county treats alcohol,\u201d a Granby resident wrote.<\/p>\n

One Grand County resident highlighted the fact that the dispensary does not fall under Granby\u2019s municipality: \u201cI am for the dispensary going in for several reasons, but the main reason being that I do not believe Granby should have a say in what businesses can exist outside of their city limits.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A word cloud of the letters written in opposition of the IgadI dispensary. Size indicates how often words were used in total. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Those opposed to the IgadI store brought their own arguments. Nine of the 22 letters mentioned the impact the shop would have on children and\/or its proximity to schools.<\/p>\n

A letter from East Grand School District Superintendent Frank Reeves referenced the store\u2019s proximity to the middle school and high school in town, highlighting increased drug use and the district\u2019s safety priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that the location of the proposed new store is a legal distance away from our schools,\u201d Reeves wrote. \u201cHowever, it is not a far enough distance to (ensure) the feeling of safety for our students and staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writers refuted the argument that the tax revenue would serve the county by weighing it against moral consequences. A letter from a Granby minister and mother pointed to mental health and violent crimes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere would be many innocent people who would pay the price to benefit just one \u2014 the owner of the pot shop \u2014 and, perhaps, the greed of those who would put tax revenue over human life and our way of life,\u201d the minister said.<\/p>\n

Multiple letters referenced and linked to episodes highlighting the detriments of marijuana in the Rocky Mountain PBS show, \u201cInsight.\u201d<\/p>\n

A letter from Mayor Paul Chavoustie on behalf of the Granby Board of Trustees was also submitted to the county, which was subject to some contention<\/a> at a town board meeting in late September.<\/p>\n

The letter highlighted when Granby residents voted to prohibit medical marijuana establishments within the town in 2010 and the trustees\u2019 following vote to prohibit recreational marijuana establishments as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the board understands that marijuana establishments are permitted within Grand County, the board and citizens of the Town of Granby have unequivocally voiced opposition to such establishments within and around the town\u2019s community,\u201d Chavoustie wrote.<\/p>\n

In a separate letter, Chavoustie also requested an intergovernmental agreement with the county commissioners regarding development along common boundaries.<\/p>\n

The fate of the store, if IgadI does not withdraw its application, remains in the hands of the Grand Board of County Commissioners.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: Some letters quoted in this story have been edited for grammar and punctuation.<\/em><\/p>\n

via:: Sky-Hi News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A sandwich board outside a marijuana dispensary in Tabernash alerts drivers there isn’t another dispensary for 100 miles. While the sign is not IgadI’s, the company based in Tabernash has filed to open another retail store outside of Granby, about 12 miles away from Tabernash.Eli Pace \/ epace@skyhinews.com Letters submitted to the Grand County Commissioners […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-24 02:20:38","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20582,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20560\/revisions\/20582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}