The Hemp Connoisseur April/May 2013, #6 | Page 50

By Joshua Kappel, Esq. and Rachelle Yeung

Sensible News is a column highlighting the latest news in Colorado marijuana community. This column is brought to you by Sensible Colorado, the state’ s leading non-profit educating the public on marijuana policy.

& Juvenile Justice have been researching the question for well over two years, and have developed far more familiarity with the topic. In fact, a marijuana related DUID bill was recently introduced in the State Legislature that appears to strike a compromise between the various stakeholders.

When Gov. Hickenlooper signed Amendment 64 into law, proclaiming marijuana legal to use, possess and purchase for adults 21-years-old or older in Colorado, advocates barely paused to celebrate their victory – and opponents barely recognized their defeat.

Instead, all sides immediately began working on implementing this historic initiative through the governor’ s“ Amendment 64 Implementation Task Force.” The Task Force, created by an executive order of the governor, is comprised of 26 members, who were selected for their wide range of interests and expertise – from representatives of the Attorney General’ s office and the Department of Revenue to medical marijuana industry groups and other stakeholders. 1

The Task Force is assisted by committees, or“ Working Groups,” each of which is co-chaired by a member of the Task Force and made up of additional stakeholders and members of the public. The five Working Groups are:

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The various Working Groups have discussed a large range of issues, some of the issues are already addressed in the text of Amendment 64 while other issues appear almost unrelated. A full list of all the issues discussed, agendas, meeting times, and audio recordings are available on the department of revenue’ s Amendment 64 Task Force website. The Task Force is scheduled to make its recommendations to the State legislature, and the Department of Revenue and the governor by the end of February.

During its first meeting, members of the Criminal Law Working Group came to a consensus that they should avoid tackling issues of driving under the influence of drugs( DUID) and industrial hemp. Despite being tasked with these issues, the Working Group decided discussing these would be a waste of valuable time and resources. In fact, Brian Connors, co-chair of the Working Group and representative of the public defender’ s office, noted, revisiting the DUID issue would be not only time-intensive, but also redundant. The Legislature and the Colorado Commission on Criminal

1 It is worth noting that the Task Force really doesn’ t have to address any issues besides funding the Department of Revenue to make rules because Amendment 64 is self-executing.

Instead, the Criminal Law Working Group will focus on determining legal definitions and confronting law enforcement issues. For example, can evidence of marijuana alone be the basis for probable cause? In the event of a dismissal or‘ not guilty’ verdict, do law enforcement agencies have a duty to maintain seized marijuana plants? This Working Group has also veered off path to discuss completely unrelated issues such as requiring drug tests for all minors who apply for a driver’ s license.

The Tax / Funding and Civil Law Working Group, among other things, addressed the issue of banking for state licensed marijuana businesses. Because marijuana is still illegal under federal law, most banks are fearful of handling funds related to marijuana. However, all parties involved, from marijuana business owners to representatives of the Colorado Bankers Association agreed the fledgling marijuana industry could not depend entirely on cash transactions. Unfortunately, the Working Group was faced with a serious shortage of viable alternatives, and in the end, resolved only to write to the federal government, requesting further guidance.

The Regulatory Framework Working Group kicked off its first meeting by examining existing regulatory frameworks and deciding which framework to model recreational marijuana on – specifically, whether to base it on our medical marijuana code or our alcohol / liquor code. Amusingly, one of the first issues to come up was whether to require vertical integration, which the medical marijuana code mandates, or prohibit it, which is the case with liquor.

The Regulatory Framework Working Group also brought up one suspect issue: whether to recommend a residency requirement for those who are going to purchase marijuana from a licensed store. This issue caught many people by surprise, as Amendment 64’ s personal protection clause makes clear that“ possessing, using, displaying, purchasing, or transporting marijuana” is now legal under state law for persons over the age of 21. The plain language of Amendment 64 applies to all adults 21 years or older.

In addition to the issues covered by the other Working Groups, the Local Authority and Control Working Group is working to resolve: What can local jurisdictions regulate? What will be the local controls regarding advertising? What / who is the local authority over fines and licensing? Lastly, the Consumer Safety / Social Issues Working Group is working to resolve issues associated with: advertising and marketing to minors; product labeling and packaging; product testing; and consumer, public, and industry education.