Colo. proposal could limit high-volume medical marijuana growers

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Table: Marijuana caregivers
The state Board of Health is looking at new rules to limit high-volume caregivers. Those are people authorized by the state to grow marijuana on behalf of others, and they're not subject to state taxes or background checks. The vast majority of caregivers grow marijuana for a small number of people.

Regulators want to limit the number patients they can grow for, said Dana Erpelding with the state Department of Public Health and the Environment.

"[That's] in order to ensure that they have the time to spend one-on-one with their patients," Erpelding says.

One particular caregiver is growing pot for nearly 100 patients, which is a safety issue since these operations are not inspected like licensed dispensaries.

But Teri Robnett, a patient advocate, says there are few really good caregivers out there and the state shouldn’t restrict access to them.

"I think we need to always keep what patients need at the front of any of this discussion, because ultimately that can be a life or death situation for them," Robnett says.

The new rules will be voted on in September after comment from the public is taken.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.