Lyons - The Lyons Town Board will ask voters to decide in November to authorize a new excise tax on the amounts that any locally licensed marijuana-cultivation or marijuana-infusion facilities charge when they sell their products to marijuana retailers. That excise tax on wholesale marijuana transactions would start at 5 percent in 2016 and could eventually range up to - but never exceed - 10 percent. Town officials said there are no locally licensed marijuana growing operations or marijuana-infusion product manufacturers inside Lyons now, but that the tax, if it passes in November, would be imposed on any future facilities. [continues 116 words]
Medical Marijuana Businesses in the County Can Expand into the Recreational-Use Marketplace. Boulder - Boulder County commissioners Tuesday opened the door to allowing existing medical marijuana businesses to expand into the recreational marijuana marketplace. Under a licensing measure approved by Commissioners Cindy Domenico, Deb Gardner and Elise Jones, medical marijuana facilities in the county's unincorporated areas would be eligible to seek county licenses to grow, manufacture, test, store and sell marijuana and marijuana products for recreational use. Boulder County is to begin accepting and processing recreational marijuana license applications Dec. 9. [continues 189 words]
On Aug. 1, Boulder County officials may finally get a tally of how many businesses are growing or selling medical marijuana at locations outside the county's cities and towns. Any established medical marijuana centers operating in unincorporated parts of the county as of Aug. 1 will have to register with Boulder County's Land Use Department by that date. After Aug. 1, medical marijuana centers starting up in unincorporated Boulder County will have to register within 30 days after commencing operations. [continues 892 words]
Commissioners Vote To Restrict Grow Locations BOULDER -- County commissioners have ruled out letting medical-marijuana businesses grow their crops in unincorporated Boulder County's agricultural zoning districts. Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to restrict "medical marijuana centers" -- businesses that sell, grow or distribute medical marijuana -- to the county's business, commercial, light industrial, general industrial and transitional zoning districts. During a public hearing before the vote, several medical-marijuana advocates and business owners urged the commissioners to allow them to cultivate cannabis crops in ag zones, something several indicated already is going on. [continues 379 words]
BOULDER -- More than half of Boulder County's cities and towns have enacted moratoriums on approving any more medical marijuana businesses, as local governments wait for guidance from the Legislature. They're not alone, according to Michelle Krezek, the county commissioners' intergovernmental relations coordinator. During a Wednesday night Boulder County Consortium of Cities discussion of medical marijuana issues, Krezek reported that throughout the metropolitan area's counties and municipalities, "everybody's waiting for the state." And if it turns out that no new state-level medical marijuana regulatory measures are enacted by the time the Legislature adjourns in May, Krezek said that "there could be a scramble" as local governments try to figure out what they can legally do by themselves. [continues 603 words]
BOULDER -- The Boulder County Drug Task Force is investigating an increase in heroin-related activity that officers say is illustrated by five fatal overdoses over the past five months. The task force's chief, Sheriff's Cmdr. Steve Prentup, said a review of Boulder police and county coroner's records for the period between Oct. 1 and this past Wednesday showed: Five heroin-related deaths: four in Boulder and one in Longmont. Two heroin-related overdoses in which users were revived and treated in Boulder. [continues 367 words]
DENVER -- Supporters of Amendment 44 outnumbered the state and local law enforcement officials who gathered Friday on the state Capitol steps to detail their opposition to that marijuana-legalization initiative. "This is a sad day for Colorado," Gov. Bill Owens said after the pro-44 demonstrators heckled and chanted during the anti-44 news conference. Owens, one of the featured speakers at the news conference, complained he'd never before seen a news conference where a legitimate debate by organizers was "shouted down." [continues 318 words]
DENVER -- Amendment 44, if voters approve it, would make it legal under state law for anyone age 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana. Marijuana possession is now a Class 2 petty offense under Colorado law, punishable by a fine of up to $100. The legalization measure is being promoted by SAFER, an organization whose name assert that marijuana is a "Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation" than alcohol. SAFER spokesman Mason Tvert has said alcohol abuse "contributes to social problems light fighting, sexual assault, property damage and domestic abuse" but that "marijuana has never been linked to these types of issues." [continues 274 words]
Amendment 44 Proponent Disputes Bluebook Analysis DENVER -- Amendment 44 would make it legal to give up to 1 ounce of marijuana to anyone ages 15 through 20, as long as no money changes hands or other compensation is involved, according to a ballot-information booklet the Legislature has prepared for Colorado voters. "This was not our intention," Amendment 44 proponent Mason Tvert insisted to members of the Legislative Council last week. It's also untrue, Tvert said Monday, because anyone giving marijuana to anyone under age 18 could still be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. [continues 473 words]
Proponents Want Wording Changed In Voter Guide DENVER - Amendment 44 would make it legal to give up to one ounce of marijuana to anyone ages 15 through 20, as long as no money changes hands, according to a ballot-information booklet the Legislature has prepared for Colorado voters. "This was not our intention," Amendment 44 proponent Mason Tvert told the Legislative Council last week. It's also untrue, Tvert said Monday, because anyone giving marijuana to anyone younger than 18 could still be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. [continues 581 words]
DENVER -- Coloradans will decide this fall whether to make it legal under state law for anyone age 21 and over to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana. Secretary of State Gigi Dennis announced Wednesday that backers of that ballot initiative had turned in enough signatures to qualify for the Nov. 7 general election. The marijuana-legalization proposal will be Amendment 44 on the ballot, Dennis said. Under Colorado law, anyone of any age caught possessing an ounce or less of marijuana can be charged with a Class 2 petty offense, punishable by a fine of up to $100. [continues 149 words]
DENVER -- New state laws will put further restrictions on government condemnation of private property and on private toll-road projects, under a pair of measures Gov. Bill Owens OK'd on Tuesday. Another bill that Owens signed into law Tuesday will mean stiffer fines for motorists caught using electronic devices illegally to ensure they'll get green traffic lights, while a fourth contains a number of provisions targeting methamphetamine abuse. After Owens signed at least 17 bills on Tuesday morning, he had fewer than 10 remaining measures left to act on from the 2006 legislative session that concluded May 8. [continues 330 words]
