Concerns About Colorado’s Caregivers

ecently, a new bill was signed into law by Governor John Hickenlooper
that will have significant impact on caregiver limits in Colorado.

This new law, originating from the material in Senate Bill 14, sets the
limit on caregivers to 99 plants. This law is an effort to crack down on those
who exploit the lenient rules for caregivers in order to grow tons of plants
and sell them on the black market. Now, those wishing to be high-volume
caregivers and supply many patients will have to go through a background check
and follow the same rules as commercial growers.

“We’re really trying to make sure that caregivers are part of our
regulatory system,” Representative Jonathan Singer, D-Longmont, one of the
backers of the bill, told The
Associated Press in regards to the fact that the bill strives to make
all growers answer for the amount they grow.

The law also tries to avoid the harsh cannabis restrictions favored for
so long by the federal government by not forcing caregivers to register.
Instead, it simply encourages caregivers to register by warning that the new
regulations will make it easier to verify the number of plants a person has,
instead of dragging errant caregivers into court.

This new law comes in response to outcries from those who are still
anti-cannabis and wish to crack down on crime, as well as those who are
involved in the industry and don’t want to see the black market stealing their
profits and darkening their future.

“It is a pretty good reflection of what the community wants,”
Hickenlooper stated regarding the new law and all of its provisions.

In addition to changing the caregiver limits, the bill helps out in
some other areas as well. There was an outdated and seldom-regarded provision
in Colorado law before that state any parents who want to obtain cannabis for
medical purposes to help their children must grow it themselves. This obviously
criminalizes anyone who comes to Colorado from out of state knowing nothing
about cannabis and hoping to get treatment, and it does not make much sense as
far as a preventative measure. This provision has now been struck from state
cannabis law.

Another important issue that this bill takes care of is allowing
cannabis to be imbibed on school campuses, as long as the medicine in question
is brought to school by a medical caregiver who is licensed or a parent. This
is very important for children who have severe medical conditions and need to
medicate throughout the day. Thanks to this new provision, these children will
be allowed to attend school throughout the day and won’t have to go home every
time they need to re-up a dose, or stay home and be homeschooled in order to
make it through their days.

Hickenlooper also made it a point to sign this new law at the police
station in Denver, in order to usher in a new era of cooperation between
caregivers and the police. “There are good reasons for all sides to not trust
each other,” Teri Robnett, who currently leads the Cannabis Patients Alliance,
and was involved in negotiating the bill, admitted to the Associated Press.
It is the hope of both sides that this new regulation helps to ease these
tensions.

If enforced correctly, this new law will protect the rights of honest
caregivers, while also stopping black market growers from taking away the
rights from legal businesses. This, in addition to the other strong provisions
in the bill, are sure to make for a strong new legislation in cannabis for the
state of Colorado.