BROOMFIELD — Fresh on the heels of several recent proposals to open medical-marijuana dispensaries in Broomfield, the City Council on Tuesday instructed the Planning Department to deny applications to potential distributors and told the City Attorney’s Office to write briefs supporting council’s decision.

On Tuesday, the organizers of three potential dispensaries contacted Broomfield to see whether they could set up shop in the city, Planning Director Dave Shinneman said.

City Council members were set to discuss the issue in a study session before the requests were made. But instead of focusing on the politics or beliefs driving the issue, they tried to frame the discussion in the driest terms imaginable — how the city zoning code would govern where dispensaries could be built. But the sudden number of permit requests and council members’ personal opinions quickly took the discussion in a different direction and gave it a sometimes emotional edge.

Councilman Randy Ahrens adamantly opposes distributing marijuana.

“What we’re talking about is some people’s need for weed. If they really have a medical condition, they have a way to get it,” Ahrens told the council, referring to drugs containing synthetic THC, a primary component of marijuana.

Read the rest of this report at Broomfield Enterprise.