The Colorado Legislature is back, and with it, of course, comes proposals to tweak marijuana laws. One bill aims to make the state more competitive with California and Oregon by removing the limits on how many and what types of investors can enter the Colorado cannabis industry. Another would charge the Institute of Cannabis Research at Colorado State University-Pueblo with creating a tracking agent so law enforcement could easily determine if marijuana shipments are legal. And legislative leaders say they expect to finally resolve their discord over legislation to allow special districts to collect a voter-approved tax on recreational sales. Nothing too dramatic. But stay tuned. The session has just begun.
Sessions action could backfire
Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ surprise repeal earlier this month of an Obama policy that discouraged prosecutors from enforcing federal laws against marijuana in states where it is legal could end up helping the industry. That’s according to National Cannabis Industry Association Executive Director Aaron Smith, who told The Cannabist the decision has forced members of Congress and other national leaders to take sides. And he says more members of Congress are asking how they can help.
Quotable:
“(Politicians) look at our side, where we have over two-thirds of the country supporting legal marijuana and over 70 percent say that they want the federal government out of it.”
National Cannabis Industry Association Executive Director Aaron Smith
