Pot tourism in Colo.? Marijuana regulators OK idea

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States shaded in green have legalized medical marijuana use. Orange states have legalized recreational marijuana use (as of November 2012).

(by Kristen Wyatt, The Denver Post) AP, DENVER – Marijuana tourism is on the way to Colorado, under a recommendation made Tuesday by a state task force to regulate the drug made legal by voters last year.

But Colorado should erect signs in airports and borders telling visitors they can’t take pot home, the task force recommended.

Colorado’s marijuana task force was assembled to suggest regulations for pot after voters chose to flout federal drug law and allow its use without a doctor’s recommendation. Made up of lawmakers, law enforcement authorities and marijuana activists, the task force agreed Tuesday that the state constitutional amendment on marijuana simply says that adults over 21 can use the drug, not just Colorado residents. If lawmakers agree with the recommendation, tourists would be free to buy and smoke marijuana.

“Imposing a residency requirement would almost certainly create a black market for recreational marijuana in the state,” said Rep. Dan Pabon, a Denver Democrat who sits on the task force.

Tourists could see purchasing caps though, possibly as low as an eighth of an ounce per transaction.

Afraid that marijuana tourism could open the door for traffickers to load up and take it across state borders for illegal sale, task force members agreed that non-residents should be able to buy only limited amounts, though a specific amount wasn’t set.

“Marijuana purchased in Colorado must stay in Colorado,” Pabon warned. “We could attract greater federal scrutiny and displeasure of our neighbors,” if marijuana flows across state lines, he said.

Task force members were [not able to agree to any] recommendations on marijuana growing and public use. Colorado’s marijuana law allows home growing but requires plants to be in a locked, secure location out of public view. The task force couldn’t agree whether a “locked” and “secure” location would mean a backyard surrounded by a fence, or whether an enclosure such as a shed or greenhouse should be mandatory.

One of the task force’s most vocal marijuana critics, Greenwood Village Police Chief John Jackson, worried that backyard pot gardens would need more than a chain-link fence to keep kids out.

Not all task force members agreed. Marijuana advocate Meg Sanders said the covering requirement wouldn’t be fair to rural Coloradans. “I think it goes too far in restricting what people can do on their own private property,” Sanders said.

Public use also prompted a dispute that wasn’t resolved Tuesday. Jackson and others wanted to ban marijuana use on publicly visible patios, porches and backyard. Marijuana activists on the task force chafed [became annoyed; impatient].

“So I can drink a beer on my porch? But I can’t smoke a joint?” asked marijuana advocate Christian Sederberg.

State Sen. Cheri Jahn, D-Wheat Ridge, said lawmakers would hesitate to regulate something legal people do on private property. What about backyard grills that send the smell of hamburgers into the nose of a neighbor who’s vegetarian?, she asked. “I don’t know how far we want to go telling people what they can’t do on their own porches,” she said.

The porch marijuana question was left unsettled. Task force members also put off a decision on proposals from Chief Jackson to exempt law enforcement from maintaining marijuana and marijuana plants seized during criminal investigations.

Potency and labeling recommendations for commercial marijuana will also be discussed later.

The task force has until Feb. 28 to recommend marijuana regulations, which will ultimately be set by the state Legislature and the Department of Revenue, the agency which oversees gambling and alcohol and will also regulate recreational pot.

From the Associated Press. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission from The Denver Post. Visit the website at denverpost.com.

Questions

1. What is the purpose of Colorado’s marijuana task force?

2. What did the task force conclude the new state constitutional amendment on marijuana permits?

3. Why does Democratic state Rep. Dan Pabon oppose limiting marijuana sales to Colorado residents?

4. What limit is the task force considering imposing on non-residents/tourists?

5. a) On what issues could task force members still not agree by the end of Tuesday’s meeting?
b Until what date do they have to make their final recommendations?
c) Who ultimately will set the regulations on marijuana use under the new law?

6. Many of the Coloradans who voted to legalize the use of marijuana to be used not only for “medicinal” purposes, but for recreational purposes, say they did so to decriminalize the possession of small amounts (so that people who were caught with small amounts would not be arrested and put in jail). They believed people who smoke pot would do so whether it was legal or not, and didn’t think they should have a criminal record for smoking pot, many said that most people who smoke pot are otherwise law abiding citizens.
Describe at least 2 unintended consequences to legalizing the use of marijuana for recreational purposes.

7. State Sen. Cheri Jahn, D-Wheat Ridge, said lawmakers would hesitate to regulate something legal people do on private property. What about backyard grills that send the smell of hamburgers into the nose of a neighbor who’s vegetarian?, she asked. “I don’t know how far we want to go telling people what they can’t do on their own porches,” she said. Should the neighbors’ rights to a drug free environment be taken into consideration? What about the neighbors’ kids? Explain your answer.

8. a) Recreational marijuana use is now legal in Colorado. Should the state ban parents from smoking pot in a home when children under the age of 21 are present? Explain your answer.
b) Re-read question #7. How do you think Sen. Jahn would respond to 8a) ?

9. Now that the sale of marijuana is legal in Colorado, it is taxed. Marijuana sales have brought in many millions of tax dollars to Washington state and California, along with an increase in crime. In your opinion:
a) Do the benefits of legalizing marijuana outweigh the negatives? Explain your answer.
b) Do the benefits of smoking marijuana outweigh the negatives? Explain your answer.