Colorado PTSD Legislation Awaiting Governor’s Signature

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The Colorado Legislature took an important step toward improving the state’s medical marijuana program last week by passing SB17-017, which would add post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a qualifying condition. Twenty-four out of 29 states with medical marijuana programs allow patients with PTSD to qualify, but Colorado still does not.

Gov. John Hickenlooper has not yet indicated if he’s supportive. If you are a Colorado resident, please call him now at (303) 866-2471, and politely ask him to make this important treatment option…

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Colorado lawmakers pass measure allowing counties to levy, collect marijuana taxes

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State lawmakers approved a bill Monday that would allow counties to levy and collect sales tax on recreational marijuana, a move inspired by a standoff between Adams County and three of its cities that could wind up in the state Supreme Court.

The measure, if signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper, would allow counties to impose a pot tax in unincorporated areas without challenge but would have to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with cities and towns to tax weed there.

Adams…

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Dispute over marijuana taxing authority in Colorado may continue — despite state bill designed to defuse it

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A bill designed to resolve a high-stakes standoff over taxing authority between Colorado counties and cities when it comes to recreational marijuana sales is expected to pass out of the legislature Monday.

But the measure, if signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper next month, may not stop a protracted legal battle between Adams County and three of its cities from winding up at the state’s high court.

House Bill 1203, sponsored by Rep. Steve Lebsock, D-Thornton, authorizes counties to…

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Colorado bill making it a crime to grow recreational weed for others heads to gov’s desk

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DENVER — Colorado was set Monday to outlaw marijuana growing co-ops soon after the state Senate unanimously approved a bill (HB17-1221) making it a crime for people to cultivate recreational pot for other people.

The bill supported by the office Gov. John Hickenlooper passed 35-0 but it was unclear when he would sign it.

There are no state estimates on how many collective recreational marijuana growing operations exist in Colorado, though they are popular among users who share the cost of…

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Four governors team up, urge feds to keep marijuana enforcement status quo

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Governors in four states have joined forces with a marijuana message for two top officials in the Trump administration.

In an open letter, the governors on Monday asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to “engage with us before embarking on any changes to regulatory and enforcement systems.”

The signatories of the letter are Gov. Bill Walker of Alaska; Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado; Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon; and Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington. They…

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DEA asks Colorado AG’s office for info on marijuana crimes, “for the new administration”

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Amid speculation about how the Trump administration will confront marijuana legalization in states such as Colorado, a Drug Enforcement Administration supervisor has sent an e-mail to a prosecutor in the state attorney general’s office seeking information, “for the new administration.”

The e-mail was sent early last month by a supervisor on the financial investigations team in the DEA’s Denver field office to Michael Melito, a senior assistant attorney general. The e-mail asks for…

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Exclusive: Here’s how Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper really feels about marijuana

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In 2012, when Colorado voters wanted their state to legalize weed for adult recreational use, Gov. John Hickenlooper was thrust into an interesting predicament.

The moderate Democrat had stood in opposition to Amendment 64, a measure he felt would send the wrong message to kids, create public health risks, detract from Colorado’s desirability, and, not to mention, stoke the ire of the feds.

But voters’ will spoke and Hickenlooper became an extremely reluctant figurehead and participant in…

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Colorado pot clubs bill passes through House committee, showdown with governor likely

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DENVER — Colorado lawmakers moved closer Monday to a showdown with the governor over pot clubs.

A House committee voted 8-3 to approve a bill giving local governments a roadmap to allowing private marijuana clubs. The clubs could allow indoor smoking, if they have fewer than three employees.

“The goal here is to give folks a space where they can consume” marijuana, said Rep. Dan Pabon, a Denver Democrat and sponsor of the bill.

The bill also has Republican supporters who say clubs would keep…

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Colorado governor suggests he may veto pot clubs bill without changes

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Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday expressed reservations about two major pieces of marijuana legislation in Colorado — in one case citing concerns about the Donald Trump administration’s potential crackdown.

The Democrat pledged to veto a measure that won preliminary approval in the state Senate earlier in the day to allow pot clubs with local approval. To win his support, Hickenlooper said the measure needs to ban smoking marijuana indoors.

Under the bill, Senate Bill 184, local…

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Colorado looks at ban on co-op growing to stop black market

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Colorado may ban collective marijuana growing under a bill that calls some patient-owned marijuana grows a “public nuisance.”

A bill up for its first hearing in a House committee Monday would ban co-op pot growing by setting a statewide limit of 12 marijuana plants per residential property.

The change would effectively force some medical marijuana patients to buy from a licensed grower instead of growing their own plants.

Supporters including Gov. John Hickenlooper say the change is needed…

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Colorado GOP Senate Leader Downplays Federal Interference Fears

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Colorado Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg

In response to statements made by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer last week, Colorado Senate President Pro Tem Jerry Sonnenberg said that he does not think the federal government will crack down the legal marijuana market in states where it is legal for adult consumption.

Denver Post reports:

“I’m not sure I’d put too much thought or too much credit into what he was saying,” Sonnenberg told reporters Monday morning. “This president has been all about federalism and giving the states more…

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Hickenlooper: It’s unclear whether Trump could stop legal marijuana

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Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, as a guest on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, downplayed the possibility that the Trump administration would take aim at Colorado’s recreational marijuana industry, saying legalization’s inclusion in the state Constitution makes it unclear whether the federal government could shut it down.

“Our voters passed it 55-45. It’s in our constitution,” Hickenlooper told “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd on Sunday.

“You don’t think…

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Colorado governor’s weed advice for California: Focus on edibles, home grows, pesticides

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Colorado’s governor played sage to California on Tuesday, warning lawmakers that their state has a “steep hill” ahead in legalizing recreational marijuana and urging them to pay close attention to aspects such as home-grow regulations, pesticides and public safety.

Hickenlooper addressed California lawmakers in Sacramento to share his lessons learned and words of wisdom from when his state launched first-of-its-kind, adult-use cannabis sales in 2014.

“It’s one of the hardest things we’ve…

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Tax hike: What it could mean for consumers, industry in Colorado

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Cannabis consumers could be paying more Colorado marijuana tax come July 1. As with any proposed tax increase, the prospect has been met with some concern amid the news that one of the state’s pot taxes would increase 50 percent.

At issue is a proposal floated this week by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper that would raise the special sales tax on recreational marijuana products to 12 percent on the date it was scheduled to drop to 8 percent from its current 10 percent.

Unaffected would be…

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Hickenlooper pot tax hike plan vaults debate over education spending to forefront

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Top Colorado lawmakers on Wednesday gave a package of tax hikes introduced a day earlier by Gov. John Hickenlooper an uneasy reception, with members of both parties suggesting they found the proposal lacking but are uncertain of how to proceed.

Hickenlooper on Tuesday took the extraordinary step of proposing two tax hikes to send an additional $110 million to public schools, thrusting school funding into the forefront of the state’s budget discussions, even as lawmakers are already

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Hickenlooper floats pot sales tax hike to bridge school funding gap

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Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday asked Colorado lawmakers for a 50 percent increase in sales taxes on recreational marijuana starting July 1 to send an additional $42 million to public schools.

The Democrat wants to increase the recreation sales tax on pot to 12 percent effective July 1, the same day the levy is scheduled to fall to 8 percent. The current tax rate is 10 percent.

The move is part of his plan to fill a $135 million shortfall in school funding caused by a constitutional…

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