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Amendment 64 - Some Issues
Amendment 64 (Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol Act of 2012): This constitutional amendment provides for a person 21-years-of-age or older to legally consume or possess 1 ounce or less of marijuana. The amendment also provides for government licensing, regulation and taxing of marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities, product manufacturing facilities and testing facilities. For more information from those in favor of Amendment 64, see www.regulatemarijuana.org. For more information from those opposing Amendment 64, see www.votenoon64.com.
Some Issues:
Conflicts with Federal Law
1. The Colorado Constitution would sanction the felonious violation of federal law. Under the laws of the United States of America, and the forty-nine other states, the cultivation, manufacturing and distribution of marijuana for recreational use is illegal.
More Liberal than the Netherlands
2. Amendment 64 would make Colorado's laws on marijuana more liberal than the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, sale and cultivation is illegal with a graduated fine and/or jail time scale depending on amount. Their "coffee shops" are technically illegal but tolerated as long as they abide by restrictions including no amount of marijuana is allowed to leave the premises. Also, "coffee shop" members must have a permanent residence in the Netherlands.
No Limits on Stores and Grow Operations
3. The limits on the amount of marijuana applies to the user; however, there are no limits on how much a retail store can stock and sell nor the number of marijuana plants a cultivation facility can grow. There are also no limits on how many times per day an individual can buy marijuana from a store.
No Residence Requirement
4. There is no residency requirement to own a marijuana retail store or run a marijuana operation or manufacturing operation. There is also no residency requirement to buy marijuana; thus, out-of-state visitors can come to Colorado to use and buy marijuana.
Private Marijuana Clubs
5. There is no prohibition against opening "private" marijuana clubs in which marijuana can be smoked and otherwise consumed.
Limits for Edibles?
6. Amendment 64 says an individual can possess an ounce of marijuana. How is that determined with marijuana edibles? There is no way to measure the amount of marijuana if part of edibles.
Unlicensed Grow Loophole
7. Since unlicensed individuals can also cultivate marijuana it would be simple by using names of different people forming a co-op to exceed the limit of six plants and operate a major grow site outside any rules and regulations as a type of co-op. This would be legal even if the local city or county prohibited licensed operations.
Grows Exceed User Limits
8. Amendment 64 limits the use or possession to one ounce of marijuana although an individual can possess six plants, which equates to anywhere from ¾ pound to 3 pounds of marijuana.
Constitutional Amendment vs. Legislation
9. Constitutional Amendment 20, passed by the people in 2000, provided for an affirmative defense but not the right for a patient and/or his or her caregiver to grow and possess a limited amount of marijuana for "medical" purposes. In 2010, the Colorado legislature passed "medical" marijuana legislation allowing retail "dispensaries," commercial cultivation of marijuana and the manufacturing of food products with marijuana. This legislation can be modified or changed by future legislative action. However, Amendment 64 provides the right for retail stores, marijuana cultivation operations, manufacturing of edibles with marijuana and marijuana testing sites under the provisions of the constitution, not legislation. That means the only way it can be changed is by another constitutional amendment. The legislature has significant restrictions in the ability to change actual and/or potential problems with an amendment.
Litigation
10. Since this is a constitutional amendment, there will probably be litigation as the loopholes and conflicts are tested. Amendment 64 allows an individual the constitutional right to use and/or possess marijuana, which creates ramifications for schools, businesses, criminal justice and private businesses. This is particularly true with the "Drug Free Workplace" requirement on businesses dealing with the federal government
Unreasonably Impractical
11. Amendment 64 has the term "unreasonably impractical" which disallows any restriction on the industry that may fall under that category. This is a call for future litigation at a cost to the taxpayer as to what the industry deems "unreasonably impractical" vs. the government's view.
Local Ordinances
12. One section of Amendment 64 states that localities shall, no later than October 1, 2013, enact an ordinance to regulate Amendment 64. However, later in what appears to be a conflict, gives localities the right to prohibit these marijuana operations but, if by general election, only in even-numbered years. That means that the earliest voters can vote to ban marijuana operations is November 2014, over a year after they are required to be established and accept licenses to operate. The exception would be an ordinance passed by the city council or county commissioners. Even if the local entities prohibited licensed operations, they couldn't restrict individuals, or individuals together, growing marijuana in city or county residential areas.
Regulatory Agency
13. There are no provisions to fund a regulatory agency. Amendment 64 would require two different regulatory entities, one for recreational marijuana and one for the hemp industry, which would also be legal under Amendment 64.
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