On the subject of his states nation-leading experiment with legalized adult-use marijuana, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has been reliably erratic.
Voter-approved legalization was recklessto a certain extent, the governor once said, adding he wouldnt do it again if he could, before coming around to sayhey!legalization might work and that he wouldnt change course if gifted a time machine and perfect foresight. (Amazing how a flood of tax revenue and a recovered real estate sector can change your outlook on things.)
But the winds have changed again for Hickenlooper, who on Monday declared that gray-market marijuana presents a clear and present danger to his state.
By gray market, Hickenlooper means any marijuana thats grown legallyor at least with the appearance of legalityand then sold illegally.
To combat this scourge, Hickenlooper is asking state lawmakers for $16 million in marijuana taxes to fund law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, according to the Denver Post. Thats no small piece of the pie, as the state gleaned a total of $70 million in marijuana taxes during the last fiscal year, which ended June 30.
I take this very seriously, Hickenlooper told the Denver Post in an interview. This is one of the things we worried about in the very beginning.
Colorado medical-marijuana patients can cultivate up to 99 plants at home, and recreational users can grow up to six plants per personand can join together with other users to form vast marijuana cooperatives, as the Denver Post put it.
Just how much marijuana is grown this way and then sold in other states where cannabis is entirely illegal is anyones guess. The federal government once suggested that as much as 79 percent of the nations weed came from California, where its grown under legal cover.
How much of that clandestine production has now shifted to Colorado is an academic question for the analysts. Whats important is that law enforcement and elected officials in Hickenloopers neighbor states are blaming Colorado for the weed in their communitiesand, more importantly, the feds have taken notice.
Federal prosecutors have delivered indictments to several Colorado-based cannabis growers, following DEA busts in the spring.
Judging by the timing and the tone, Hickenlooper is almost certainly getting leaned on by federal law enforcement, whichconsidering who was just elected president of the United Statesis likely to only get meaner on weed over the next few years.
Rather than pull a Jack Ryan, Hickenlooper is likely trying to get ahead of any problems that might arise from a Trump ...
