• 14
  • June
    2010

Last Monday, Governor Bill Ritter signed two highly controversial bills designed to legitimize and regulate medical marijuana into law; House Bill 1284 and Senate Bill 109.

To review:

House Bill 1284

• Requires all medical marijuana dispensaries in the state of Colorado to obtain both state and local licensure

• Requires all medical marijuana dispensaries to demonstrate that they grow at least 70 percent of the marijuana they sell

• Prevents drug felons from opening medical marijuana dispensaries

• Prevents those who have not lived in the state of Colorado for at least two years from opening medical marijuana dispensaries

• Creates a distinction between medical marijuana dispensaries and primary caregivers; primary caregivers are smaller scale operations, prohibited from selling to more than five patients at a time

• Gives local governments/voters the ability to ban medical marijuana dispensaries

Senate Bill 109

• Requires physicians to conduct a full medical exam and full medical review before recommending medical marijuana

• Requires patients between the ages of 18-21 to obtain the consent of two physicians in order to obtain medical marijuana

• Eliminates payments to physicians by medical marijuana dispensaries for writing recommendations

In his released statement, Governor Ritter said,

"In my State of the State Address in January, I called on the legislature to work with my office, law enforcement, the medical marijuana community and other stakeholders to bring bipartisan, common-sense solutions to the chaotic proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries in communities all around Colorado. The companion measures I signed today strike a delicate balance between protecting public safety and respecting the will of the voters."

The legislation is expected to be challenged in court by both those who say it goes too far and those who say it simply doesn't do enough.

In the meantime, various cities have declared a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries, while others are in the process of preparing a ballot question, allowing the voters to decide the issue. However, at least two cities (Vail and Greenwood Village) have already banned medical marijuana dispensaries altogether.

Stay tuned for further developments ...

Related Resources:   
• Ritter Signs Bills Regulating Medical Marijuana Industry (The Denver Post)
• Gov. Ritter Strengthens Medical Marijuana Oversight (Colorado Governor Bill Ritter)