EAGLE, Colorado — Eagle may come one step closer to having a medical marijuana dispensary.

Applications for two dispensaries are scheduled to come before the town's planning commission tonight.

Both shops — Sweet Leaf Pioneer and The Pharm Inc. — would stand on Chambers Avenue.

In October, Eagle trustees voted to allow medical marijuana shops, as long as the stores meet a long list of criteria. The two dispensaries up for review tonight are the first medical marijuana shops to embark on the approval process.

Eagle resident Dave Manzanares hopes to open Sweet Leaf Pioneer. He wants to rent about 800 square feet on the first floor of the Eagle Tech Center, at 1286 Chambers Ave. If he clears town approvals, Manzanares hopes to open his dispensary by Feb. 1.

“It's something I believe in and I have for many years,” he said.

A self-described family man, Manzanares said he ran a carpet cleaning business in the valley for 14 years. He became a medical marijuana cardholder to cope with his bad back. With a pair of herniated discs in his lower back and two degenerative discs in his neck, Manzanares said medical marijuana eased his pain. Visiting area dispensaries also inspired him to start one of his own.

Eagle-Vail resident Barry Hasman also wants to open The Pharm Inc. dispensary at 1120 Chambers Ave. He plans to rent a 4,000-square-foot space a block and half east of the Eagle County Sheriff's Office. A pharmacist for 15 years, Hasman hopes to open a dispensary within the next few months.

“Originally I started thinking of how I'd heard a lot of the news on these drug cartels, which you hear from Mexico invading the national forest and setting up grow operations,” Hasman said. “I don't know how to control them other than if they're going to have medical marijuana stores, I could try to get one and at least take marijuana off the black market, or try to help with that.”

Next step

No final decisions on the dispensaries will happen tonight. For the pot shops to open, they have to gain approval from the town's Board of Trustees.

During tonight's meeting, town planners could make a recommendation on whether trustees should approve the shops, approve them with conditions, or deny them, Town Manager Willy Powell said. The commission may also ask for a continuance if members lack sufficient information to reach a conclusion, he said. Planners will consider whether the dispensaries meet a long list of “special use” criteria, such as whether the security system meets certain standards, Powell said.

If the planners make their recommendation tonight, the dispensaries could come before the town trustees as early as Jan. 26, Powell said.

Trustees will consider the special use criteria, plus a set of rules for granting a medical marijuana business license, he said. No chain dispensaries are allowed, and dispensary owners must prove they have a solid moral character and reputation, Powell said.

Staff Writer Sarah Mausolf can be reached at 970-748-2928 or smausolf@vaildaily.com.