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1.Marijuana dispensaries will have time, place, and number restrictions. The law authorizes local time and place restrictions on marijuana dispensaries and limits on the number of dispensaries, which will likely take the form of zoning laws. Statewide, it prohibits marijuana businesses from siting within 1,000 feet of schools, drug treatment facilities, or child care facilities, mirroring similar restrictions in many state marijuana laws. Also particularly noteworthy is that the law permits local jurisdictions to not only implement their own independent licensing schemes, but also to entirely ban retail marijuana establishments, a move that has been controversial and subject to court challenge in other states.
2.Colorado limits who may obtain a marijuana license. Among those prohibited from obtaining a license are all sorts of law enforcement officers, those with a criminal history that indicates he or she is not of good moral character, and anyone who plans to site a marijuana business in a food establishment.
3.Products will be subject to state oversight and testing. Licensed suppliers and retailers are required to provide a sample of their product to a state testing facility, which will likely verify the purity, potency, and safety of the products and eliminate the risk of black market purchases sometimes laced with other drugs.
4.Colorado will limit interstate purchases. Recognizing the significant concern of the Department of Justice that states with recreational marijuana laws not become suppliers for those around the country, Colorado law permits licensed marijuana retailers to sell only ¼ of an ounce per transaction to nonresidents.
5.Retailers, producers, and consumers will pay a hefty tax. The law Hickenlooper signed would impose a 15 percent excise tax and a 10 percent sales tax. The first $40 million of this revenue will go toward school construction. But state voters will have to vote on whether to approve this tax scheme during the 2014 election. Additional state and local taxes on all products may result in a total tax rate in excess of 30 percent.
6.Colorado has finally implemented driving under the influence regulations for marijuana. After years of wrangling over a DUI law that would both protect drivers and ensure that those who use medical marijuana regularly would not be criminally punished, Colorado now has a law limiting THC levels to 5 nanograms while driving. Those charged, however, will have the opportunity to rebut a DUI allegation with evidence that their driving was in no way impaired.
Six Ways Colorado Will Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol | ThinkProgress
2.Colorado limits who may obtain a marijuana license. Among those prohibited from obtaining a license are all sorts of law enforcement officers, those with a criminal history that indicates he or she is not of good moral character, and anyone who plans to site a marijuana business in a food establishment.
3.Products will be subject to state oversight and testing. Licensed suppliers and retailers are required to provide a sample of their product to a state testing facility, which will likely verify the purity, potency, and safety of the products and eliminate the risk of black market purchases sometimes laced with other drugs.
4.Colorado will limit interstate purchases. Recognizing the significant concern of the Department of Justice that states with recreational marijuana laws not become suppliers for those around the country, Colorado law permits licensed marijuana retailers to sell only ¼ of an ounce per transaction to nonresidents.
5.Retailers, producers, and consumers will pay a hefty tax. The law Hickenlooper signed would impose a 15 percent excise tax and a 10 percent sales tax. The first $40 million of this revenue will go toward school construction. But state voters will have to vote on whether to approve this tax scheme during the 2014 election. Additional state and local taxes on all products may result in a total tax rate in excess of 30 percent.
6.Colorado has finally implemented driving under the influence regulations for marijuana. After years of wrangling over a DUI law that would both protect drivers and ensure that those who use medical marijuana regularly would not be criminally punished, Colorado now has a law limiting THC levels to 5 nanograms while driving. Those charged, however, will have the opportunity to rebut a DUI allegation with evidence that their driving was in no way impaired.
Six Ways Colorado Will Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol | ThinkProgress
