Colo.: Governor signs two medical marijuana reforms and reduces sentences for marijuana possession

Published: June 8, 2010

Colorado this week became the first state to enact a regulatory scheme for pre-existing medical marijuana dispensaries. Dispensaries proliferated in Colorado in the wake of the Obama Justice Department’s October 2009 memo advising against targeting those in clear compliance with state medical marijuana laws. H.B. 1284, the dispensary regulation bill sponsored by Rep. Tom Massey (R-Poncha Springs) and signed into law on June 7 by Gov. Bill Ritter (D), creates a clear licensing scheme for this rapidly growing industry.

Dispensary owners and operators will now be subject to licensing fees and criminal background checks. Dispensaries will also be required to grow at least 70% of their inventory themselves, and may not operate within 1,000 feet of a school.

H.B. 1284 also contains provisions licensing growing operations connected to dispensaries, establishes standards for allowing some on-site consumption of medicine for patients who cannot safely use their medicine elsewhere, and makes medical marijuana purchases for indigent patients exempt from sales tax.

Also on June 7, Gov. Ritter signed S.B. 109, which re-defines the doctor-patient relationship for medical marijuana patients. It requires doctors making medical marijuana recommendations to provide a full physical exam and medical history check before making a recommendation, and to offer follow-up care to patients to determine the effectiveness of their treatment.

On May 25, Gov. Ritter signed a third bill relating to marijuana policy, H.B. 1352. The bill makes numerous sentencing reforms, including increasing the amount of marijuana a person may possess while only being guilty of a petty misdemeanor, which is punishable by a $100 fine. Under the new law, that amount is now up to 2 ounces (not one ounce as under previous law).

In other news, MPP grantee Sensible Colorado is planning a campaign to petition the state Department of Public Health and Environment to add post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the list of conditions for which patients may register to receive medical marijuana. Many PTSD sufferers are veterans, so if you are a veteran who supports medical marijuana access for PTSD patients whose doctors believe marijuana would be effective, your help is especially important. Please e-mail me so that I can tell you how to join Sensible Colorado’s effort.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project and our grantee Sensible Colorado. Please pass this alert on to friends, family, and neighbors so they can stay up to date on the progress of marijuana reform in Colorado.