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[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]W[/dropcap]ill Colorado finally allow for the delivery of cannabis from stores and dispensaries? We will find out very soon. In mid-February the Finance Committee of the Colorado House of Representatives advanced House Bill 18-1092, which would allow for delivery pilot programs.

As currently written, the bill would allow Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) to enter into up to three memoranda of understanding with cities and counties to allow delivery in those jurisdictions. The MED has discretion to limit the number of dispensaries and stores that could deliver within that jurisdiction, and contiguous jurisdictions could agree to allow delivery between them. Indeed, the bill gives the MED a great amount of discretion, including limitations on the amount to be delivered (which could be a problem for high-dosage medical patients), tracking and training.

Parts of the cannabis industry have been pushing for delivery for years, but bills have quickly died in the past when introduced. Proponents have focused on delivery as a way to decrease the incidence of DUIs and cut down on delivery sales made through websites such as Craigslist. Detractors, including law enforcement and (historically) the MED are concerned about diversion and public safety in general (such as robberies and carjackings). Indeed, in 2017 a delivery bill was withdrawn after Gov. John Hickenlooper said delivery would be a “hazard” that would draw the ire of the federal government. Given Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ pronouncements in 2018, one wonders whether the governor’s mind will change.

That said, businesses make B2B deliveries in the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars quite often with minimal public safety problems. More likely, law enforcement and the MED are concerned about further liberalization of cannabis laws, which after all was the intent of Amendment 64—to regulate cannabis like alcohol.

 

“Even so, the practical problems with delivery, given the security requirements for grows, stores and MIPs, could be enormous.”

 

Delivery would also be a boon to the apps and websites that are seeking to become the Uber or Lyft of cannabis delivery. Representatives from Eaze, a San Francisco-based delivery service, testified at the Finance Committee’s hearing in February and touted their facilitation of more than two million deliveries of medical cannabis in California and asserted that incidents of crime have been rare.

Even so, the practical problems with delivery, given the security requirements for grow operations, stores and MIPs, could be enormous. Would tracking be similar to package delivery services liked UPS or FedEx, or would something more be required? It would be easy to track delivery to a residence, but how sure would regulators be that the purchased cannabis went to a lawful purchaser? (On the other hand, once a purchaser leaves a store, regulators have no control over what that person does with his purchase; is that really significantly different from delivery?). Similarly, packaging requirements, already onerous, could be multiplied for deliveries, making them more expensive for those (e.g., medical patients, the elderly) who can least afford them.

Colorado government has been successful at liberalizing cannabis laws while the market continues to evolve. Consumers are demanding access to cannabis in the same way they access alcohol and other regulated products. While law enforcement’s concerns are not to be discounted, opponents of liberalization who focus on the legal industry should focus their concerns on the black market.

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