Colorado marijuana laws and regulations are abolished in 2019; Upcoming changes

While bills calling for the commercial distribution of marijuana and social pot licenses hold the attention of the State Capitol, another move could bring dozens of changes and add new rules for Marijuana industry in Colorado.

Current state laws on marijuana for medical and recreational purposes are on the verge of disappearing in September of this year. Legislators therefore reviewed the laws and regulations relating to the pot industry and their personal use, and introduced the proposed amendments in Senate Bill 224. Further changes could be made as amendments are made to the 259-page proposal.

Jordan Wellington, a lawyer at the Denver Bar, Vicente Sederberg, a marijuana specialist, does not consider the sunset measure particularly dramatic at the moment, but he would not be surprised if future amendments spice things up. The bill was introduced on March 29 and its first Senate committee vote is scheduled for April 9. If the next marijuana ended in ten years, the SB 224 could have long-term effects on all aspects of the cannabis industry, including hemp.

"There is a lot of discussion on the Capitol for potential amendments to this bill, but I think we will see more and more of it with the approach of the hearings and the presentation of this bill", explains Wellington. "I think it's reasonable to think that we'll see stakeholders pushing amendments at some point."

In the meantime, here is a list of anticipated changes based on the wording of the bill and the recommendations of the state's Department of Revenue, which oversees much of the marijuana-related activities.

Background check
Existing legislation prohibits anyone from becoming a fired marijuana employee if he has been found guilty of a crime in the last five years or a drug related crime during the course of time. last ten years. Advocates of marijuana and minorities say that this excludes some demographic data unfairly affected by the war on drugs and advocate for a reduction of barriers to entry into the industry. These amendments would remove the special prohibition on drug-related criminals and reduce the five-year ban for criminals to three years.

Sale of hemp and CBD at leisure clinics
Although the current medical marijuana code allows dispensaries to sell hemp and THC-free CBD products, recreational pottery stores are prohibited from selling a consumable product without a certain amount of THC. As the hemp and CBD industries continue to grow in Colorado, this amendment would allow recreation clinics to sell hemp and CBD products without THC.

Test hemp
At present, the state constitution does not include industrial hemp in the definition of marijuana for commerce or for medical purposes. Hemp is therefore not subject to the same standards for pesticides and microbial testing as products containing marijuana in pharmacy. If clinics want to start selling hemp and CBD products derived from hemp, they can only use hemp that is part of the state's marijuana seed tracking system and tested according to the same criteria as THC plants.

Equivalence medical possession
Recreational marijuana users can own up to one ounce of marijuana; until recently, this ounce of "marijuana" could have meant an ounce of concentrates or food products containing an ounce of THC. This definition has since been modified to allow users to own an ounce of cannabis flower, or 8 grams of concentrate or food containing up to 800 milligrams of THC.

However, medical marijuana users, who can own up to two ounces of marijuana, are still allowed to transport or purchase two ounces of concentrates or THC in infused products. This suggested change would create standards of equivalence for patients, but these new limits have not yet been defined.

Fusion of medical marijuana and retail codes
Marijuana for medical and recreational purposes is currently subject to a similar but different set of rules in Colorado, resulting in much more work for business owners and the government. There are also several cases where the rules do not match, such as product test requirements. The SB 224 would merge the codes while retaining some differences, such as higher activity limits and lower sales tax rates for the MMJ versus the leisure pot.

Medical marijuana application
Patients who apply for a medical marijuana card but have not yet received an application can currently submit a copy of their application and a certified mail receipt (after submitting their application to the Department of Colorado's public health and environment) to buy MMJ. With the transition from CDPHE to electronic MMJ cards, however, the requirement of a postal receipt has become outdated and unnecessary, so that patients would no longer need to provide it when they go to dispensaries. This is perhaps the least controversial household cleaning in this update of the current listings.