Colorado’s proposed driving while stoned standard both arbitrary, highly flawed
This week Colorado’s House Judiciary Committee, keen to protect the public from newly legal pot smokers who might get behind the wheel after one puff too many, unanimously approved a bill that would...
View ArticleDon’t forget markets and choice in Amendment 64 implementation
Amendment 64, the ballot initiative that legalized cannabis in Colorado, was also known as the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012. Under “Purpose and Findings,” it says marijuana should be...
View ArticleAmendment 64 legislative committee rejects pot protectionism
Last week the joint (heh heh) legislative committee working on implementation of Amendment 64, Colorado’s marijuana legalization initiative, struck a blow against pot protectionism by rejecting a...
View ArticleAmendment 64: Colorado legislature piling on legal pot restrictions
A bill setting out guidelines for regulation of marijuana stores in Colorado received a second vote of approval from the state House of Representatives on Saturday and needs one more before it heads to...
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How recreational pot rules compare in Colorado and Washington
On July 3, the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) unveiled its proposed rules for the state-licensed pot stores authorized by I-502, the marijuana legalization initiative approved by voters...
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Audit rips Denver’s pot regs as ineffective, and that’s not a bad thing
The Justice Department’s crackdown on medical marijuana has been notably less heavy-handed in Colorado than in other states. While the feds have shut down hundreds of dispensaries in California and...
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Denver establishes ‘cannabis cartel’ model for recreational marijuana
Last week the Denver City Council approved an ordinance that gives existing medical marijuana centers (MMCs) a lock on the new recreational market, which is supposed to start operating in January,...
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Will excessive marijuana taxes prop up the black market in Colorado?
In less than a month, Colorado voters will decide whether to approve Proposition AA, which would authorize an excise tax of 15 percent and a sales tax of up to 15 percent on the marijuana that...
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Colorado dispensary raids: are feds sending a message pre-recreational pot...
Yesterday federal agents, assisted by local police, staged the biggest crackdown on marijuana dispensaries in Colorado since the state legalized cannabis for medical use in 2000. The Denver Post...
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Denver pot rules: ‘smell test’ axed, front porch toking may be banned
The latest version of Denver’s rules for marijuana consumption eliminates the widely derided “smell test,” which would have made pot smoking illegal when other people can smell it, even if you do it on...
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Colorado’s ‘cannabis credit co-ops’ won’t solve the legal pot banking problem
On May 7 the Colorado legislature approved a bill aimed at giving state-licensed marijuana businesses access to banking services by creating “cannabis credit co-ops.” The summary of H.B. 1398 explains:...
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Flawed report reflects drug warriors’ desperation to discredit Colorado’s...
A new report from the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (RMHIDTA) gathers together all the horrible things that have happened in Colorado since the state began loosening its marijuana...
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Nebraska and Oklahoma’s odd attempt to force pot prohibition back on Colorado
Yesterday Nebraska and Oklahoma sued Colorado, arguing that marijuana legalization there is having spillover effects on neighboring states and should be reversed because it violates federal law. The...
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Denver DA’s prosecution of jury nullification pamphleteer runs afoul of First...
Last week Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey charged a local political activist, Mark Iannicelli, with seven counts of jury tampering, a felony punishable by one to three years in prison, for...
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Case dismissed: Judge tosses Denver jury tampering charges as unconstitutional
Last August, Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey charged two local activists, Mark Iannicelli and Eric Brandt, with seven felonies each for passing out jury nullification pamphlets at the...
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Nebraska, Oklahoma show fair-weather federalism with Colorado pot lawsuit
On January 6, two days before Mexican authorities recaptured Joaquín Guzmán Loera, a.k.a. El Chapo, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt pointed to another drug lord, this one hiding in plain sight:...
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Despite federal approval, selling hemp and CBD remains legally risky
WASHINGTON DC–At the end of last year, Congress passed a farm bill that legalized hemp, defined as cannabis containing no more than 0.3 percent THC by weight, and its derivatives, including cannibidiol...
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Sullum: ‘Red Flag’ law erodes civil liberties based on future behavior
In April, Colorado became the 15th state to enact a “red flag” law that authorizes court orders forbidding gun possession by people deemed a threat to themselves or others. The new law, which has drawn...
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Colorado Supreme Court: Alert by pot-detecting dog can’t justify search,...
DENVER–Drug-sniffing dogs in states that have legalized marijuana should be worried about their job security in light of a decision that the Colorado Supreme Court issued on Monday. Confirming the 2017...
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Survey data show decline in adolescent marijuana use after legalization
WASHINGTON DC–Notwithstanding fears that legalizing marijuana for adults would lead to an increase in underage consumption, a new analysis of survey data finds that legalization is associated with a...
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