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Colorado made a sort of history on Tuesday when Governor John Hickenlooper, a staunch former opponent of legalizing marijuana, signed six bills to create laws for governing the seed-to-sale monitoring of recreational marijuana.
The laws provide a solid framework to follow, and according to the Governor the bills were “common sense” legislation as “recreational marijuana really is new territory.”
One of the strictest laws governing pot production awards celebrity status to each seed of pot and ensures the establishment of a separate agency for seed-to-sale video surveillance. We can expect the movie team for the next box office blockbuster “Life of Pot” to hit Colorado anytime next year.
Jokes aside, the new laws do seem to be very common sense measures that can alleviate the concerns of most critics and opponents and at the same time provide order to what is really a new territory.
The highlights of the new marijuana laws in Colorado and their effects are as follows:
Limits of possessing marijuana for recreational use remain one ounce for all.
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People growing marijuana for recreational use at their homes would be allowed to grow only up to six plants with only three plants flowering at any given time.
Residents who are 21 years and older will be allowed to purchase up to one ounce of marijuana.
Visitors to Colorado will be able to purchase only a quarter-ounce of recreational marijuana per transaction. Out-of-state visitors will not be allowed to carry back marijuana when they leave Colorado.
Blood levels of marijuana during driving have been established and the legal limit for drivers will be 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood.
Things that remain illegal include purchasing marijuana from unlicensed vendors, selling marijuana without license, and public use of marijuana.
For the first few months or until proper surveillance methods are established, selling recreational pot would be carried on by individuals and establishments already licensed to sell medical marijuana.
Growth of the recreational marijuana industry, besides being controlled by video surveillance, will be subject to residency requirements – only people who have been residents of Colorado for at least two years may apply for license to grow and sell, and any investors in the industry would also have to meet the same requirements.
According to Denver Post, the first sellers of recreational marijuana would be limited to selling marijuana they have grown themselves, and by October 2014, standalone growers and retailers could start business.
The new framework also recognizes the rights of local governments to ban retail sales of recreational marijuana in their jurisdictions, if they choose to do so.
