Editorís note: The Falcon residents in this article asked to have their names withheld (instead, we are using fictitious names — John and Sue). Because of legal ramifications, the NFH deemed anonymity in this case valid.In October 2016, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners approved permanent restrictions on the number of marijuana plants that could be grown on each property in unincorporated areas of the county, including Falcon. The commissioners used the land development code to make growing more plants a code violation similar to fencing properties, constructing non-permitted buildings or encroaching on neighboring properties.The 12-plant limit is stricter than the statewide standard for both medical and recreational marijuana. Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a 99-plant limit through Senate Bill 14 in May 2015. Medical marijuana patients (with red cards) are limited to the number of plants suggested by the doctor who recommended cannabis for a medical condition.Colorado Constitutional Amendment 64, which legalized recreational cannabis, allows six plants per adult.The reduction is a hit to county residents who invested in equipment to grow their allocation of medical plants. Falcon residents ìJohnî and ìSue,î who requested anonymity for this article, see the new land use code as unfairly restricting medical rights under Amendment 20, the constitutional amendment passed to allow marijuana for medicinal use in Colorado.ìMy doctor said I was going to go blind within 10 years from my glaucoma,î John said. ìGlaucoma is the classic medical need that everyone thinks of with medical marijuana, and there’s a good reason for it. It works really well.ìSome people are being prescribed as much as a gram a day in CBD equivalents, which needs about 75 plants in a three-month cycle. That could be a thousand dollars a month at a dispensary, when they could grow it much cheaper and make a tincture.îReducing the number of plants that someone with a medical need can grow will either force them to hide home grows from the countyís development services department and the sheriffís office, or buy from medical dispensaries, John said.ìBoth the sheriffís office and El Paso County Development Services are empowered to enforce this section of land use codes,î said Dave Rose, chief public information officer for El Paso County.ìA lot of the people who are established are just going to ignore it,î John said. ìThey may feel that if it’s a code thing, just like building an 8-foot fence instead of a 6-foot fence, then it’s not the same as traditional drug charges.îThe smell of marijuana grows drifting over property lines in residential areas also triggers code enforcement with the new land use code. ìNormally, most growers are smart enough to have their setups completely contained so you’re not ever going to smell anything,î Sue said. ìAnd there’s so much stinkweed out here that people often confuse with marijuana. With filters and other simple solutions, I can walk into someone’s house knowing how many plants they grow and not smell anything.îSince the rule was introduced last year, county development services officials have investigated several properties in unincorporated El Paso County for growing excess marijuana plants. ìThe latest information Iíve heard is that several property owners have been contacted, informed of the code requirements and have brought their properties into compliance voluntarily,î Rose said. ìAt this point, as a result of voluntary compliance, I do not think that any citations have been issued for violations.îState marijuana activists are hoping to find marijuana growers who are willing to take on the county over the limits. ìThey’re basically waiting for someone with a similar, legitimate medical need to sue the county,î John said. ìBut someone who has enough money to pay the lawyers will have enough money to just buy what they need at a dispensary.îEl Paso County is not the only local government with per-property plant limits or other restrictions. The city of Golden banned outdoor cannabis growing, and Denver has had a similar 12-plant limit since 2010.A Colorado Springsí task force on marijuana within city limits is also looking into a per-property limit. ìDiscussions Iíve had with city council members have indicated that they are generally moving toward similar, if not identical, requirements to be incorporated into the cityís code,î Rose said.The New Falcon Herald has received several emails and phone calls asking how residents who suspect large-scale grows in their neighborhoods should report possible land use code violations. The county recommends that citizens aware of large-scale grow operations in residential areas report the situation to El Paso County Development Services at 719-520-6300 or the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office at 719-390-5555.
