Colorado has new restrictions on medical marijuana

[Payaso]

Happy 4/20 from Colorado!

Not!

Tuesday the House passed legislation restricting the rights of medical cannabis users, and protesters created a huge cloud of smoke in front of the capitol as the politicians debated.

The Colorado House toughened a plan to regulate medical marijuana stores Tuesday, even as music from a pro-pot rally drifted into the Capitol.

Under Tuesday's changes to House Bill 1284, local governments could forbid marijuana dispensaries by a vote of a city council, county commission or local voters. People with past drug-related convictions would be banned for life from running a medical marijuana store. And marijuana edibles could not be consumed inside a dispensary.

Even in its newly toughened form, the bill still would offer the first legal recognition to the storefront medical marijuana operations that sprang up around Colorado during the last year.
Voters legalized medical marijuana in 2000, but the law so far says nothing about dispensaries.


“The voters did not approve a dispensary model. We're in the process here of building a dispensary model," said Rep. Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs.


HB 1284 would make it more difficult to operate a dispensary. It sets up state and local licenses, similar to the ones needed to open a liquor store. Stores would have to cultivate most of their own marijuana, and they could not open near schools or drug-treatment centers.


On Tuesday, lawmakers made the bill expire in five years, unless a future Legislature and the state Department of Regulatory Agencies renew it or change it.


They also decided to forbid people from eating or smoking marijuana products inside a dispensary. Earlier this year, a committee decided to allow the consumption of edible marijuana on site, after disabled veterans testified that they could get kicked out of their federal housing for using medical marijuana at home.
Legislators said Tuesday that on-site consumption increases the risk that patients will drive while intoxicated.

The full story is here.

 

[Baddog40]

Under HB 1284, convicted felons would have to wait 5 years before obtaining a license to open dispensaries (called "centers" in the bill), and those convicted of a drug-related felony would be barred completely from ever owning a dispensary.

So basically someone convicted of murder and rape 6 years ago can own a dispensary whereas someone convicted of selling a joint 20 years ago is permanently barred.

 

[igrowone]

MMJ operates at the sufferance of the political powers
there are many ways to restrict MMJ
those in Cali may want to keep this in mind when they vote this Fall for legalization, even if it's not the best legalization

 

[Surrender]

Legislative schizophrenia at its best. We may yet make it through the legislative session without the governor's signature on either of these bills.

 

[Old time lurker]

Must be that time of the month...the politicians are bringing up MMJ again. Honestly, I've quit following it for this reason in CO. They recommend new changes to the law every 2 weeks or so, fight over it for awhile, then head back to the drawing board. Eventually, these "public servants" (HA!) are going to realize that A BUNCH of Coloradans smizzoke, and that it might be worthwhile for their careers to represent a large and growing number of voters.

 

[Balazar]

I'm getting tired of fucking protesting. What does it take to make these ass hats realize we are here to stay and the more they try to make money off of us the more angry we become. Someone needs to go down to the CDPHE office and teach those kids a lesson. They are our representatives, they work for us not fucking lobbyists. I'm trying to find a way to get that point across to them without ending up in jail.