Big changes planned for Colorado marijuana laws on home growing

Big changes planned for Colorado marijuana laws on home growing

DENVER Hoping to preserve its marijuana law under the next president, Colorado is planning a slate of legislation designed to crack down on pot that is grown legally but then sold on the black market.

The goal is to cut down on complaints that Colorados liberal allowances for growing pot without a license has created a thriving network of illegal growers. Colorado allows medical pot patients to grow up to 99 plants, far beyond other marijuana states, and it also allows recreational users to group their allotted six plants into massive co-ops, entire greenhouses of pot that arent tracked or taxed.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper says the states generous pot allowances make it almost impossible for cops to tell legitimate growers from black-market fronts, and he is calling for a several new laws to crack down. Proposals include a ban on group recreational pot grows and new paperwork requirements for people who grow medical pot.

With uncertainty looming about how the next president will approach marijuana, Colorado regulators say its time to ramp up efforts to crush the black market and show the feds that Colorado isnt letting weed seep into other states.

We do need to clean up this system and make sure were beyond reproach for how well were regulating marijuana, said Andrew Freedman, the governors marijuana coordinator.

Colorado has been sued by two neighboring states, Nebraska and Oklahoma, for allegedly not keeping marijuana within its own borders. That lawsuit was dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court, but neighboring states continue to gripe that Colorados friendly reminders at airports and interstate highways arent sufficient to keep marijuana out of their states.

Freedman points to six large criminal raids in the last two years as evidence that black market pot dealers are exploiting the state. The most recent case happened this fall, when federal agents and local law enforcement simultaneously raided a dozen homes in southeast Colorado, seizing 22,400 pounds of marijuana. Investigators say that weed was intended to be taken out of state.

Were hearing from federal officials, Hey listen, this is a concern,' Freedman said.

The governors plans, outlined to lawmakers in advance of the 2017 legislative session, include a statewide 12-plant limit in private homes, which is still more generous than other marijuana states such as California (six plants) and Washington (four plants before having to register with the state).

Some of Colorados largest jurisdictions, including Denver and Colorado Springs, already have those 12-plant limits through local ordinances. So its not clear how many people would be affected by the new limit.

The governor also wants lawmakers to ban collective recreational grows and to require caregivers to keep track of their plants and where ...

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