DENVER -- Veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder would be allowed to use medical marijuana in an amendment to legislation already being debated at the State Capitol.

House Bill 1284, which is set for a first vote in House committee Monday afternoon, would put more regulations in place in regards to the use, growth and dispensing of medical marijuana. Lawmakers heard from the public at a committee hearing two weeks ago, but delayed the vote.

Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, plans to introduce an amendment that would allow veterans suffering from PTSD to use medical marijuana. His amendment would require people to get a recommendation from a psychiatrist before they would qualify for medical marijuana.

"This is one simple step towards doing something on behalf of our veterans," Pace told TheDenverChannel. "An eight member board of physicians in New Mexico just verified that medical marijuana does assist fight the symptoms of PTSD."

Under the current proposal, dispensaries would be licensed and would have to grow most of their own marijuana. Communities would also be able to vote to ban dispensaries within their boundaries.

A legislative document that details how much the bill would cost the state, also spells out the changes proposed to current medical marijuana law.

According to the document, proposed medical marijuana licensing would generate approximately $2.3 million in 2010-11 and 2011-12. The cost to create the state licensing authority for medical marijuana centers is estimated at $1.9 million in 2010-11 and $1.7 million in 2011-12.

According to the state's fiscal analysis of the legislation:

In order to operate a medical marijuana center, the owner of the potential center must obtain a license from the local licensing authority and then the state licensing authority. In addition, if an operator plans to grow marijuana off-site, he or she must obtain a separate premises cultivation license and if the operator plans to produce edible marijuana products, he or she must obtain an infused product manufacturer's license.

The local licensing authority may restrict the number and location of medical marijuana centers and premises cultivation licenses issued in the locality. The applicant must provide required information concerning the specifications for the building and information on the employees. Owners, officers and employees of the center must undergo a criminal background check. The local licensing authority is required to hold a public hearing prior to approving any license. After receiving a local license, the owner of a center or a premises cultivator must apply for a state license.

The bill restricts the location of medical marijuana centers and limits the amount of marijuana that a center may have at any given time. In order to obtain a state license, the owner of the center must pay a $5,000 bond. The state licensing authority is authorized to adopt rules, forms and applications. Rules may include the following:

Enforcement and violations of the medical marijuana code.

Instructions for local licensing authorities and law enforcement officers.

Inspections and investigations of medical marijuana facilities.

Penalties associated with violations.

Development of identification cards for employees.

Security requirements for medical marijuana centers.

The bill specifies that certain individuals are prohibited from operating a medical marijuana center, such as physicians, people under 21 years of age, or a member of law enforcement. Licenses are issued for up to two years. Owners are required to keep records on all transactions for three years and provide them to the state licensing authority upon request for inspection. The medical marijuana centers, cultivators, manufacturers and employees are required to pay a fee which is set to cover the costs for operating the state and local licensing authorities. The costs for the bill related to state licensing are to be paid from the Medical Marijuana License Cash Fund.

Both the local and the state licensing authorities have the authority to suspend and revoke licenses and issues fines for violations of the medical marijuana code. The bill also specifies violations of the medical marijuana code, such as consuming medical marijuana at a center, operating a center outside of the prescribed business hours, or possessing more than six plants and two ounces of marijuana for each patient who is registered with the center. Violations of the code are a class two misdemeanor.

The bill also amends the statute concerning the medical marijuana program to regulate the role of caregivers as follows:

A caregiver is required to register with the Department of Public Health and Environment (DPHE) for each patient for whom he or she is a caregiver with a limit of five patients at any time.

A patient may only have one caregiver at any time.

A caregiver must submit to a criminal history background check to determine that he or she has not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor drug offense within the past 5 years.

The DPHE must create a confidential registry of caregivers and, with the caregiver's permission, provide the caregiver's information to a patient or physician seeking a caregiver.

An individual who is not currently a caregiver can submit his or her information to the registry to be considered to be a caregiver for a patient who does not have one.

Patients and caregivers are required to have their registry cards in their possession at any time that they possess medical marijuana.

Another amendment to be considered Monday is whether to allow home-based caregivers to serve up to 16 patients in communities which vote to ban retail dispensaries.