New Colorado State Marijuana Laws and Not-so Legal Marijuana Money

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap radius”]T[/dropcap]he 2016 Colorado Legislative session has begun and cannabis is again the topic of some of the bills already introduced. Throughout the session additional cannabis bills may be introduced, so these three may not be the end of it.

Senate Bill 16-015

Currently there is a list of pesticides that cannot be used when growing cannabis. This bill contemplates that the Governor shall designate a state agency to promulgate rules to designate criteria that identify pesticides that may be used in the cultivation of cannabis.

House Bill 16-1041

Currently the regulatory licensing scheme for cannabis in Colorado requires the business to post a bond for the issuance or renewal of their state issued licenses. What has come to light is that bonds are simply not available in the market place for cannabis businesses. It is speculated that this is because cannabis continues to be illegal under federal law. So, this bill removes the bond requirement for marijuana businesses.

House Bill 16-1064

This bill simply clarifies the 2015 bill by allowing that local licensing authorities may issue medical cannabis testing facility licenses.

Also on the cannabis legal front is the recent dismissal of the federal lawsuit by Four Corners Credit Union against the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City which bank would not issue the state chartered credit union a master account. A master account from the federal reserve is needed in order to place money from the credit union into the federal money system. U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson dismissed the lawsuit essentially citing the fact that cannabis remains illegal under federal law as cannabis continues to be listed as a Schedule 1 substance (drugs with no medicinal value) under the federal Controlled Substance Act. Judge Jackson stated that the government remains committed to enforcement of federal drug laws. Judge Jackson wrote, “I regard the situation as untenable and hope that it will soon be addressed and resolved by Congress.” So, once again, the onus is back on Congress and the politicians to catch up to the voters and citizens of our great United States.

The irony above is that while the federal government insists on closing its eyes to the legal reality of cannabis, Colorado’s legislature is working to continually hone our marijuana regulatory scheme which by far is the most effective and strongest in the country. The federal government is slowly, on a piece meal basis, coming to terms with the wide sweeping acceptance of legal cannabis across the country. What is perplexing is the absolute resistance of our Congress to move cannabis off the Schedule 1 drug list. This would open up avenues giving states greater freedom to impose regulatory schemes on the plant, keep the cannabis money safe in banks, research with the cannabis, take tax deductions for the costs of the cannabis businesses, better control distribution of it, and recognize that citizens are far more protected with legal cannabis than illegal cannabis.