Pubdate: Thu, 18 Jul 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: John Ingold

MARIJUANA LOBBYING SPIKES NEAR END

As the Colorado legislature this year raced in its final weeks to get 
crucial marijuana regulations out the door, money spent on marijuana 
lobbying came rushing in.

According to state records, advocacy groups on both sides of pot 
issues spent at least $183,000 on lobbyists in April and May. The 
money spent on marijuana lobbying in that period - during which the 
legislature met for a total of 5 1/2 weeks-was more than double the 
amount of money spent on marijuana lobbying during the legislative 
session's first three months combined, the records show. And it makes 
up more than half of all the lobbying expenditures on marijuana 
issues for the 2012-13 fiscal year, according to tallies by The Denver Post.

In total, groups focusing on marijuana issues have spent at least 
$331,000 in the past year on lobbyists. That figure does not include 
the money spent by numerous other groups-everything from 
law-enforcement organizations to labor unions to ski resorts to a 
national liquor trade group-that have registered interest in 
marijuana bills in lobbying disclosure forms but have also lobbied on 
many other issues.

The figure could also rise as lobbyists report payments that came 
after the session from marijuana clients they worked for during the 
session. For instance, the influential lobbying firm Headwaters 
Strategies reported in its disclosures doing work for Medbox, a 
company that makes vending machines capable of dispensing marijuana. 
The firm, however, has not yet reported receiving any payment from the company.

Pro-pot lobby spending

Lobbying money spent by groups in favor of marijuana legalization or 
medical marijuana dwarfs that of money spent by groups concerned 
about the impact of looser marijuana laws.

In the past year, pro-marijuana groups have spent at least $269,000 
on lobbying over the past year. Groups concerned about marijuana have 
spent $59,000.

The Medical Marijuana Industry Group, a trade organization for 
dispensaries, has spent $55,750 on lobbying since July 2012, 
according to the disclosures. The Cannabis Business Alliance, another 
industry group, has spent $24,000.

Mike Elliott, the executive director of the Medical Marijuana 
Industry Group, said the lobbying is necessary so that business 
owners can have clear, effective rules to work under.

"We're focused on lobbying so we can create a comprehensive and 
responsible and safe regulatory program," Elliott said.

Because marijuana sales are illegal federally, Elliott said it is 
important for dispensary owners to have a voice in making "a 
sustainable program that withstands federal scrutiny."

More than just members of the current marijuana industry hired 
lobbyists this year, though.

Hiring made necessary

The Marijuana Policy Project and the Drug Policy Alliance, two groups 
that worked to pass marijuana legalization in the state in 2012, 
spent $36,250 and $5,000, respectively, on lobbying in the past year.

And Matt Taylor - a former race-car driver and a would-be marijuana 
businessman who shook up Colorado's marijuana industry this year when 
he hired a slew of lobbyists - spent at least $46,000.

But the individual group that spent the most on lobbying was one of 
the few that worked to rein in marijuana.

Smart Colorado, which describes itself as a citizen's group concerned 
about the impacts of legalization on the community, spent more than 
$56,000 on lobbyists this year, according to the disclosures. Smart 
Colorado was prominent in a failed effort to link a possible repeal 
of marijuana legalization with the passage of a tax measure, as well 
as a successful effort to limit serving sizes of marijuana-infused edibles.

Diane Carlson, one of the group's leaders, said it was necessary to 
hire a number of lobbyists because the group didn't start its 
advocacy work until late in the session.

"It was just the amount of time we had," Carlson said."We felt like 
it was very beneficial to have some people who knew their way around 
the Capitol."

What's more, all the lobbyists working for pro-marijuana groups made 
Smart Colorado members feel like they needed their own 
representatives to be on equal footing.

"We could have never done it that way on our own," Carlson said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom