Jefferson County Colorado Will Continue to Ban Cannabis

Despite its location between Denver and the counties surrounding Boulder, Jefferson County Colorado is still resisting cannabis sales within the borders of the municipality. They have already found reasons based on zoning codes and violations to shut down several operations. Recently, in light of the fact that the current moratorium is about to expire, the Marijuana Task Force of Jeffco has come up with a persuasive document arguing that cannabis should be forever banned from Jefferson County. 

The document would go into effect on Feb. 1, 2015, when the current laws would expire. The task force argues that while money could come into the area from including the business, they would inevitably have to spend money on a special task force to fight the crime that they claim would increase. They also argue that “eventually, the greatest cost to Jefferson County will be societal costs,” citing traffic fatalities and emergency room visits due to cannabis as some of the extreme projected outcomes of allowing businesses into the community.

The report admits that “the above costs are difficult to project accurately” and doesn’t offer much supporting evidence, other than some formulas meant to illustrate Denver’s revenue from cannabis vs. crime budget. However, the charts do not break down how much crime is actually from cannabis, and even if the crime is from black market activities relating to cannabis, there is no way to prove this has increased due to legal stores.

Overall, it is unfortunate that Jefferson County wants to continue to take such an intense stance against cannabis stores when it is surrounded by places who have seen very positive results from the industry. However, cannabis will of course remain legal in Colorado, so residents who wish to medicate can simply drive to a nearby county or city to make a legal purchase.