Amendment 64 implementation underway; retail marijuana stores should be operating by January 2014
Last November, the voters of Colorado made history when they approved Amendment 64, a ballot initiative backed by MPP to make the possession, sale, and home cultivation of marijuana legal. It was a moment to celebrate, but it was not the end of our work.
We knew that the process of turning the ballot initiative, which was a constitutional amendment, into statutory law and regulations would be challenging. To accomplish that goal, MPP put together a team of lobbyists and advocates to represent the people of Colorado who overwhelmingly voted in favor of regulating marijuana sensibly and responsibly. The team’s work paid off when the Colorado Legislature passed the first bills in the history of the world to establish a regulated and taxed system for marijuana cultivation and sales, and Gov. Hickenlooper signed that legislation into law.
Since then, the Department of Revenue and local governments have been diligently working on rules and regulations that Amendment 64 stores must adhere to. Thanks to the work of advocates on the ground, the Department of Revenue, and local governments, on December 30, 2013, packaged and labeled marijuana and marijuana products should be available for purchase in select cities — including (but not limited to) Denver, Pueblo County, Aspen, Breckenridge, and Boulder — by anyone 21 years of age or older through state-licensed stores.
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Colorado voters end state marijuana prohibition!
This past November, Colorado and Washington became the first states in the country — and the first geographic areas in the world — to enact a state-legal system of marijuana cultivation and sales to adults 21 years of age and older. Click here to read the full initiative language or here for a detailed summary. The effort was coordinated under the umbrella of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, led on the ground by initiative proponents Brian Vicente of Sensible Colorado and Mason Tvert formerly of SAFER and now the director of communications at MPP. This campaign was the culmination of a six-year effort to build support for marijuana policy reform in the state.
Thanks to each and every one of you who donated to the effort to end Colorado’s marijuana prohibition. This historic accomplishment was the direct result of donations, volunteers, paid staff, and countless individuals who reached out to family and friends in Colorado about the need to reform failed prohibitionist policies.
