Boulder cannabis board votes to draft memo recommending code changes to allow cultivators to make pre-rolls

The City of Boulder Cannabis Licensing and Advisory Board voted Jan. 6 to prepare an information-packet memo to city council recommending that the Boulder Revised Code be revised so local cultivation licensees may exercise the same cultivation privileges allowed under state rules, including producing pre-rolls and certain physical-separation concentrates.

The vote follows public comments from industry representatives who said Boulder’s interpretation of the local code prevents cultivators from processing trim and other byproducts into pre-rolls and some separation-based concentrates that are allowed under Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) guidance issued after 2016. The board voted to draft redlined ordinance language and an information-packet (IP) memo for council consideration; the motion passed by a 4-to-2 margin.

Board members said the recommendation is intended to weigh economic competitiveness and clarity for local businesses against any public health or safety concerns. Adam (CLAB member and co-author of the subcommittee memo) summarized the subcommittee’s view: “we're not arguing that there has been a misinterpretation of the code in the memo. The local code can be more restrictive than the state MED rules,” he said, but added the board should reassess whether the restrictions still make sense given changes in the industry.

Industry speakers told the board the code’s current interpretation has left Boulder businesses at a competitive disadvantage. Mark Slough of IComply LLC said Boulder is effectively the only Colorado city he knows that treats pre-rolls as a manufacturing process and urged the board to change its local interpretation so cultivators can process trim into pre-rolls without seeking a separate manufacturing license. “It's the only city that I'm aware of across the entire state of Colorado interpreting pre rolls as a manufacturing process,” Slough said. Ricardo Velez, a Boulder cultivator, described equipment he bought that sits unused because local rules prevent its operation and urged alignment with state rules.

Several board members and staff stressed the decision is procedural: if staff determines the current code language cannot be reasonably reinterpreted to allow these activities, the board asked staff to prepare a draft IP memo and proposed ordinance language to send to city council. Licensing manager Kristen Changeris told the board staff will provide a template IP memo and assist CLAB with redline language; the board will review and formally approve the draft at its next scheduled meeting before submission to council.

Board members also heard public-health cautions during deliberations. Member Robin Noble read concerns conveyed by University of Colorado researcher Tess Adem, who studies occupational respiratory problems in indoor cannabis production; Noble relayed Adem’s warning that “we don't know that they're safe” and recommended the board invite the researcher to present her findings before council takes final action. Several members said they want the researcher’s evidence considered and suggested any code change could be accompanied by workplace-safety requirements if needed.

What the board actually decided was procedural and narrow: to move the draft IP memo and proposed ordinance language forward for the board’s April meeting and, if needed, to ask council to revise the Boulder Revised Code to align cultivation privileges with those permitted for state cultivation licenses. If staff determines reinterpretation is not permissible, staff will include that determination in the packet and the board’s proposed redlines.

Next steps: licensing staff will provide CLAB a template IP memorandum and a draft redline for discussion. CLAB members will prepare draft language for the April meeting, when the board plans to discuss and, if approved, forward the IP memo and proposed ordinance to city council for consideration.