Articles Posted in Colorado marijuana lawyers

Colorado’s medical marijuana industry is coming under intense scrutiny, with the recent release of a 102-page audit conducted by the Colorado Department of Public and Health and Environment’s Department of Revenue.

Our Colorado marijuana lawyers understand that the report indicates that just 12 doctors are responsible for half all medical marijuana patient recommendations made in the state. Officials say this is a sign that the medical marijuana industry lacks appropriate oversight.

The number of medical marijuana patients has increased 18-fold in the last four years, the report indicates. There were an estimated 6,000 medical marijuana patients in the state as of 2009. That figure ballooned to 108,000 patients as of March of this year.

Looking at last year’s figures, there were a total of about 900 doctors who issued medical marijuana “red cards” for approved patients. Fifty percent of those were issued by a group of 12 doctors.

This is the second time the health agency has come under fire for its oversight. A previous audit in March chastised the agency for spending the majority of its budget on furniture and vehicles for staffers, as opposed to enforcement of rules for medical marijuana patients.

The audit contends that some doctors are recommending excessive amounts of marijuana to patients. In one instance, a patient was given a recommendation for more than 500 plants for personal medicinal use. Another was given a prescription for 75 ounces of the drug.

No doctor has been referred to the state’s medical board for investigation of marijuana prescriptions since early 2011.

In addition to doctor oversight, the audit reported concerns about oversight of caregivers, some of whom are permitted to take on marijuana distribution duties to five or more patients.

The health department was also taken to task for the fact that it failed to make sure that red cards were provided to patients within the mandated 35-day window for more than a third of patients as of late last year. (It’s worth noting though that as of March, that figure had improved significantly, and an overwhelming 99 percent of patients were getting their approval cards on time.)

Some of the patient-related regulations may need to change, the audit speculates. For example, as it now stands, patients have to stipulate to the state a single medical marijuana provider which they patronize. Auditors say that a new approach may be required in order to make sure that distribution centers aren’t producing more of the drug than is necessary for patients who have legitimate needs.

Patient applications fees, the audit indicated, were too steep. That has resulted in a cash fund balance that exceeds the programs needs. That money, about $113 million, is just sitting in the reserve fund, not earmarked for any specific purpose.

The state health department has said it is not disputing the findings of the audit and intends to take action to rectify the issues identified.
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As state officials in Colorado work out the regulatory details of how to handle being one of the first states in the country to permit legal recreational marijuana sales, a number of cities are scrambling to ban distribution within municipal limits.

Our Colorado marijuana lawyers understand that most recently, that has included Colorado Springs, the state’s second-largest city.

When legislation passed last year allowing for recreational sales of the drug within the state, it included an opt-out clause for any pot sales that were not for medicinal purposes.

The Colorado Springs City Council listened to two hours of commentary from the public before voting 5-4 to prohibit retail marijuana stores from opening within the city’s limits. There may not have been much choice, as the mayor had already said he would veto the council’s vote if it was swayed in the other direction.

With a population of some 420,000 people, the loss of Colorado Springs as a site for recreational sales is a significant blow to the industry. However, it’s not entirely surprising, given the large evangelical Christian presence there, making it one of the most conservative areas in the state.

Colorado Springs will still allow for sales to patients approved for medicinal use of the drug, and those dispensaries will not be affected by the vote.

Officials in the city say the presence of recreational marijuana distributors in the city could affect the area’s ability to secure federal grants, on which area leaders say they heavily rely. Still, there is legitimate concern in Colorado Springs and elsewhere that such bans will only serve to ensure that black market street dealers will have a monopoly on sales, which could lead to public safety problems.

So far, Colorado Springs is one of 35 municipalities that have so far opted out of recreational sales of the drug. In those areas, it will still be legal for adults over the age of 21 to possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use.

Some city leaders are postponing their votes until after a statewide election this fall determines tax rates for recreational marijuana sales. This moratorium is being explored by Denver, which is weighing a two-year moratorium. It’s worth noting that the mayor of Denver has been a vocal opponent of recreational marijuana sales, as well as public consumption.

If Denver passes that two-year moratorium on new shops, those that currently exist for the purpose of distributing medicinal marijuana could apply to also distribute the drug for recreational users. However, no additional shops would be allowed to open.

Sales for recreational use of the drug won’t begin until Jan. 1, 2014 in the state.

Advocates with the Marijuana Policy Project have voiced concerns that these municipal bans may be enacted prematurely. These cities may be underestimating the extent to which black market sales may proliferate in those areas.

The state’s Department of Revenue issued a lengthy report last month detailing a long list of rules for distribution of recreational marijuana and related products.
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Those wanting to purchase marijuana for recreational use in in Colorado will have to abide by a strict set of rules laid forth recently by the state’s Department of Revenue.

Our Colorado marijuana lawyers know that while the state legislature set a series of broad parameters for the sale of recreational cannabis earlier this year, most of the details were left to the Department of Revenue.

That list was released last month in the form of a 68-page regulatory report released by the department’s Marijuana Enforcement Division. The statutory authority of the rule was placed in 12-43.4-202(2)(b), C.R.S.

Sales on recreational pot won’t begin in Colorado until the first of next year, so now is a good time for those hoping to establish a market foothold to become well-versed on the new laws.

The rules are strict. There are very specific standards, from the license of retail marijuana operations to how those stores should operate to how cultivation operations should function to testing, marketing and labeling of the products.

Among some of the more mundane requirements are that buyers have to provide a government-issued photo identification card to prove that they are at least 21, the minimum age to purchase the drug. Any snacks that are laced with marijuana have to have a use-by or expiration date if those products have the propensity to spoil.

Labeling was one area where regulators spent a significant amount of time. Labels on all marijuana products have to confirm to very specific requirements that include information on the potency of the product, how much THC is contained therein, details on how to properly use the product and a full list of any ingredients that are not organic, including herbicides, pesticides and fungicides used during the cultivation process.

All marijuana products have to include the following warnings:

• There may be a health risk associated with consumption;
• This product is intended for use by adults over the age of 21;
• This product is unlawful outside the state of Colorado;
• This product is infused with retail marijuana;
• This product was produced absent regulatory oversight for health, safety or efficacy;
• The intoxicating effects of this product could be delayed by two hours or more.

Adults seeking to purchase the drug for recreational purposes is going to be limited to one ounce, which can be purchased from shops that also sell related items, such as smoking devices. Residents of Colorado can also grow up to six plants in their home at any given time, assuming only three of those are flowering at once. Those plants may only be used for personal use.

Tourists are limited to the purchase of one quarter of an ounce.

Washington state, which is the only other to have approved marijuana for recreational purposes, is still hammering out the details of how it will regulate those sales. A final draft has not yet been submitted, though it is expected to come soon, as recreational sales there are slated to begin in 2014.
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Gov. John Hickenlooper has signed off on Colorado Senate Bill 241, which regulates the growth and trade of industrial hemp in the state.

Our Colorado marijuana lawyers know that this measure will give the state a huge leg up in the commerce sector, as even the federal government has thus far failed in passing a similar law. In fact, just days before the success of Colorado’s industrial hemp law, a national measure that would have amended the U.S. Controlled Substances Act to exempt hemp sputtered out in the Senate, to the grave disappointment of farmers and the bill’s legislative sponsors from Oregon.

In Colorado, the new law authorizes the establishment of a department inside the state’s Department of Agriculture. This department will be responsible for oversight of the commercial hemp cultivation regulation. Hemp, as you may be familair, is a distinctive type of the cannabis satvia plant species. Hemp contains only small amounts of THC, which is the main psychoactive component in cannabis.

Among the various products for which hemp can be used to create:

• Clothing fibers;
• Fibers for rope and other woven-materials;
• Mulch;
• Animal bedding and litter;
• Oil for cooking, heating and in various products from paints to creams;
• Seeds used for fishing bait and animal and bird feed;
• Paper;
• Plastics;
• Hemp milk and tea;
• Cereals, waffles, tofu and butters;
• Grains for flour, cakes, proteins and breads.

Those are just a few examples.

What the new Colorado law does is classify strains of cannabis that contain no more than one-third of one percent of THC as allowable for agricultural commodity. A nine-member committee will be formed to oversee the licensing and regulation process for commercial hemp farmers. Regulations for the new program will have to be established no later than next spring.

Unlike other measures that have been passed in other states, the Colorado law does not require individuals seeking state hemp production licenses to additionally gain a federal stamp of approval. This is good news because per the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, there is no distinction between industrial hemp and marijuana.

What that also means is that hemp farmers in Colorado could find themselves vulnerable to federal intervention. Authorities with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Department of Justice have tended to crack down harder on those who cultivate and distribute the drug, as opposed to those who merely use or possess it.

Unfortunately, the U.S. is behind the curve internationally speaking, as we are the only developed country that fails to permit the cultivation of industrial hemp as a cash crop.

Farmers and entrepreneurs interested in delving into the hemp production market should refrain from doing so without careful consideration and extensive consultation with an experienced medical marijuana attorney.
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If you thought Colorado’s last word on the issue of recreational marijuana was the passage of Amendment 64 in November, you’d be mistaken.

Our Colorado marijuana lawyers understand that Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a number of historic measures late last month to coincide with the implementation of the world’s first legal, regulated and taxed marijuana market for adults.

It’s noteworthy that Hickenlooper has historically been an opponent of marijuana legalization, but has since come to call the action a move born of common sense. But that initial skepticism may color his views on the guidelines and restrictions necessary to be built into the framework of the legislation. In fact, his chief legal counsel was quoted as saying that although he opposed the legalization of marijuana, it was important to respect the will of the people.

Still, such action is being accompanied by some strict regulations.

Among the notable marijuana measures Hickenlooper approved recently:

• Visitors may purchase marijuana within the state, but they are not allowed to transport it across state lines. Specifically, visitors may purchase up to one quarter ounce of the drug in a single transaction. However, the law allows possession of the drug of up to one full ounce for adults over the age of 21. Purchasing limits were one way the state hopes to keep a handle on interstate trafficking of the drug, which will ultimately help to curb federal crackdowns on recreational sales.
• It will be several months before the first legal recreational marijuana sales will be seen. Even then, it’s going to be limited at first to a few entities that are already licensed to produce or sell medicinal marijuana. After the grandfathering period passes, new licensees must be state residents for a minimum of two years. Investors also will be required to adhere to residency requirements. The idea is to prevent the state from becoming breeding grounds for criminal cartels.
• Video surveillance will be required from seed-to-sale to allow the state to closely track and monitor it. The state is currently working on gathering the funds necessary to implement such a system.
• Not every place in the state will sell it. In fact, the language of the law is purposely over-broad, allowing county and local governments the power to ban retail marijuana sales if they so choose. In-home cultivation will be allowed statewide, but the issue of sales will be up to individual municipalities. We expect that we will primarily see sales concentrated in larger cities.
• Marijuana clubs may be targeted by state authorities for violation of clean indoor air laws. So entrepreneurs testing new grounds with private clubs with membership fees for the purpose of communal marijuana smoking ventures should be wary.
• Youth under the age of 21 are expressly prohibited from the purchase, possession or consumption of the drug. Under new legislation, it is a crime to share marijuana with someone under the age of 21 in Colorado. Doing so will garner penalties along the same lines of what you might see for furnishing alcohol to a minor. Additionally, the law bars marketing that might appeal to children and packaging of the drug must be child-proof.
• Marijuana intoxication for drivers has been quantified under the new laws as 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. The same measure was passed in Washington state last year with the passage of the recreational marijuana law, but Colorado only just now enacted it. Our Colorado marijuana lawyers have previously pointed to the logical flaws of this measure, but for now, it stands.

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A report from the marijuana advocates Americans for Safe Access (ASA) reveals that the Obama Administration’s latest guidelines for enforcement are already being followed by many states.

The marijuana lawyers in L.A. are devoted to raising awareness about the policies espoused by the federal government when it comes to marijuana legislation.

Marijuana advocates at ASA issued a report that carefully examines the latest enforcement instructions for federal prosecutors from the Obama Administration. The results may be surprising to some.
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