Colorado has just signed into law sweeping legislation aimed at the legal, recreational use of marijuana, with regulations as to how the drug should be grown and sold in addition to the existing allowance to possess up to an ounce by adults over 21.
State voters approved a constitutional amendment on recreational
marijuana in 2012. That means that, in addition to the one ounce
limit, residents of Colorado can also grow up to six plants, or
buy the drug at retail stores which could open as soon as
January.
The new legislation seeks to normalize both the sale and
consumption of marijuana, with rules on purchasing limits for
out-of-state visitors, a driving limit scaled similarly to blood
alcohol level laws, as well as carry-out requirements geared to
prevent the growth of Amsterdam-style pot cafes.
Under Colorado’s new law drivers will be considered “too stoned to drive” if their blood
stream contains more than 5 nanograms per milliliter of THC,
marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient. That is the same limit
imposed by Washington state, which enacted a series of laws
similar to Colorado last year, though also imposing a ban on the
sale of “concentrated
marijuana,” or hashish.
“Recreational marijuana is
really a completely new entity,” Colorado Governor John
Hickenlooper said, calling the new pot rules “commonsense” oversight.
Though Hickenlooper did not support last year’s legalization of
marijuana, the governor signed the new legislation into law on
Tuesday.
Still pending are a series of new taxes that could be enacted on
the sale of the drug, including a 15 per cent tax with proceeds
earmarked for school construction.
According to the Associated Press, there may also be a new
recreational pot sales tax of 10 per cent, in addition to local
and statewide sales tax.
The rollout of recreational marijuana sale is also coupled with
product labeling guidelines, including child-proof, opaque
packaging and consumer warning labels including potency.
Among Colorado’s new laws, a new requirement that marijuana
magazines be kept behind counters in stores allowing people under
21 will likely be challenged in court. Publications such as High
Times would be subject to essentially the same treatment as
pornography, and according to the AP attorneys for two such
publications have already promised to challenge the new
provision.
As the new laws are phased into effect, initially only stores
already dealing with medical marijuana will be allowed to sell
for recreational purposes. Furthermore, Colorado will grant local
and county governments broad oversight over retail marijuana
sales, including enacting bans, though growing the plants at home
will be permitted statewide.
Another key provision to the state’s new pot laws will be
requirements over stores to operate 24-hour video surveillance
and become part of a “seed-to-sale tracking system.” At
the same time, retail stores will have the opportunity to claim
tax deductions in an apparent attempt to further bolster the
surveillance requirements.
Colorado’s governor believes that the federal government will
inevitably respond to both his state’s and Washington’s new
marijuana laws, as they are in violation of federal drug law
which does not currently allow for recreational sale.
According to the Office of National Drug Policy, which outlines
federal guidelines on marijuana, it is classified as a Schedule I
controlled substance with “high
potential for abuse,” “no currently accepted medical use”
and “a lack of accepted
safety” even under medical supervision; marijuana is among
drugs like heroin and mescaline on the list.
Current Department of Justice guidelines explicitly make
marijuana illegal under nationwide law, though the prosecution of
medical use is not considered “an efficient use of federal
resources” within states that currently allow that
exception.
Asked whether Colorado’s new marijuana laws may also go
unchallenged by the Department of Justice, Governor Hickenlooper
thought it would be addressed quickly, though he would not
speculate on any outcome.
“We think that it will be
relatively soon. We are optimistic that they are going to be a
little more specific in their approach on this issue,”
Hickenlooper said.
“They’ve been kind of
busy,” he added, in an apparent reference to the various
scandals the DOJ is currently dealing with, including requests to
secretly obtain communications from the Associated Press and a
Fox News journalist.
This article originally appeared on: RT