Fort Lupton ballot early voting shows marijuana cultivation winning

FORT LUPTON — Fort Lupton voters appear to be approving the cultivation of marijuana, but rejecting an excise tax.  

As of 9 p.m., the votes cast were: 

• 2D excise tax was losing with 1,337 (56%) against versus 1,064 or 44% for with 2,401 votes cast.
• 2E to allow marijuana cultivation, storage and product development in town was winning 53% (1,283 votes) to 47% (1,126 votes) with only 2,409 votes cast.

The council this past summer opted to let residents vote on two ballot questions: one that would allow cultivation, product development, and storage in town, and another to allow a 1.5% excise tax on that cultivation. 

The town already has four businesses that allow sales, but cultivation is not allowed. 

“This ordinance would permit additional uses, product manufacturing and R&D and off site storage, but it does not include transportation. And it would only be eligible for those who hold retail operations who have already been approved,” Yolanda Clark, a Denver attorney speaking for one of the local cannabis store owners, told the Fort Lupton City Council this past summer. 

This story will be updated as new vote counts are released by election officials.

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Sharon Dunn

Sharon Dunn is an award-winning journalist covering business, banking, real estate, energy, local government and crime in Northern Colorado since 1994. She began her journalism career in Alaska after graduating Metropolitan State College in Denver in 1992. She found her way back to Colorado, where she worked at the Greeley Tribune for 25 years. She has a master's degree in communications management from the University of Denver. She is married and has one grown daughter — and a beloved English pointer at her side while she writes. When not writing, you may find her enjoying embroidery and crochet projects, watching football, or kayaking and birdwatching on a high-mountain lake.