News Nuggets (Colorado)

Boulder DA to feds: Hands off dispensaries

Declaring that he sees “no legitimate basis” for the federal government to interfere with businesses complying with Colorado law, Boulder’s district attorney has asked the U.S. attorney in the state to call off the ongoing crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries.

“The people of Boulder County do not need Washington D.C. or the federal government dictating how far dispensaries should be from schools, or other fine points of local land-use law,” District Attorney Stan Garnett wrote U.S. Attorney John Walsh in a March letter.

Garnett’s letter was in response to Walsh’s successful effort earlier this year to shut down 22 dispensaries in the state, which he’d declared were operating too close to schools.

Colorado marijuana initiatives take shape

Cannabis activist in March filed two proposed voter initiatives that would greatly liberalize cannabis laws in Colorado, bringing the number of marijuana ballot drives underway in the state to five.

One of the March measures would legalize the recreational use of pot, while the other would add more medical conditions to the state’s list of illnesses qualifying patients to use cannabis.

Three other proposed marijuana initiatives have already been filed with the state, but only one—a bill that would regulate cannabis like alcohol—has qualified for the November ballot. Backers of the remaining two bills appear to be struggling for financial support and qualifying signatures, according to The Denver Post.

Denver 420 Rally becomes a two-day affair

Cannabis-loving celebrants of the Denver 420 Rally, one of the most popular April 20 events in the world, will get two full days of festivities this year, event organizers announced.

The annual observance of all things cannabis will be held Friday, April 20, and Saturday, April 21, at Civic Center Park. Themed “Decision 2012,” the event will focus on raising awareness of proposed legislation that would either expand, or greatly scale back, the rights of cannabis and medical cannabis users.

Organizers say the celebration—beginning at 7 a.m. April 20 and ending 8 p.m. the following day—might also include the “enjoyment” of pot, though this has not been independently confirmed.