Pubdate: Wed, 29 May 2013
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2013 Associated Press
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Kristen Wyatt, Associated Press

COLORADO SIGNS INTO LAW REGULATIONS ON MARIJUANA

'New Entity'

Governor Expects Feds to Respond Over Violation of Drug Law

DENVER - A set of laws to govern how recreational marijuana should be 
grown, sold and taxed was signed into law Tuesday in Colorado, where 
Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper called the measures the state's 
best attempt to navigate the uncharted territory of legalized recreational pot.

The laws cover how the drug should be raised and packaged, with 
purchasing limits for out-of-state visitors and a new marijuana 
driving limit similar to blood alcohol levels. Hickenlooper didn't 
support marijuana legalization last year, but he praised the 
regulatory package as a good first crack at safely overseeing the drug.

"Recreational marijuana is really a completely new entity," 
Hickenlooper said, calling the pot rules "common sense" oversight, 
such as required potency labeling and a requirement that marijuana is 
to be sold in childproof opaque packing with labels clearly stating 
the drug may not be safe.

Colorado voters approved recreational marijuana as a constitutional 
amendment last year.

The state allows adults over 21 to possess up to an ounce of the 
drug. Adults can grow up to six plants, or buy pot in retail stores, 
which are scheduled to open in January.

The governor said Tuesday he thinks the federal government will soon 
respond to the fact that Colorado and Washington state are in 
violation of federal drug law.

But Hickenlooper didn't have a specific idea of when.

Pressed for details, the governor jokingly referred to unrelated 
scandals surrounding the U.S. Department of Justice.

"They've been kind of busy," Hickenlooper said.

Colorado's new marijuana laws include buying limits for out-of-state 
visitors. Visitors over 21 would be limited to one-fourth of an ounce 
in a single retail transaction, though they could legally possess the 
full ounce.

Colorado laws attempt to curb public use of marijuana by banning its 
sale in places that sell food and drink that aren't infused with the 
drug, an attempt to prevent Amsterdam-style pot cafes. Food laced 
with the drug also would have to be to-go orders.

Colorado's laws also include a first-in-the-nation requirement that 
marijuana magazines such as High Times be kept behind the counter in 
stores that allow people under 21. That provision has prompted 
promises by attorneys representing at least two publications to 
challenge the restriction, which would treat pot magazines similar to 
pornography.

Besides the magazine restriction, Colorado's laws differ in several 
more ways from proposed marijuana regulations pending in Washington 
state. Colorado makes no attempt to ban concentrated marijuana, or 
hashish, unlike Washington. Colorado also has different possession 
limits on edible marijuana. Colorado also is planning a brief 
grandfather period during which only current medical marijuana 
business owners could sell recreational pot.

Both states are poised to require all pot-related businesses to have 
security systems, 24-hour video surveillance and insurance. One of 
the Colorado laws signed Tuesday gives state pot businesses a chance 
to claim business deductions on their taxes, something currently 
banned because the industry is illegal under federal law.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom